Alison Despathy: Homeschool civics at the Statehouse

This commentary is by Alison Despathy of Danville.

Recently my homeschool civics class spent the day at the Statehouse. We prepped well. In class, we talked about political parties, the supermajority, constitutional republic versus democracy, inalienable rights, the Declaration of Independence, limited government, propaganda, the importance of bravery and integrity, and the significance of debate and asking questions. My students love debating and I made sure to squash the yelling and name-calling early on — so far so good. There was still so much ground to cover, but the foundation was forming.

The first stop landed us right up in the balcony with the House in full session. H.363 was the main event. The bill passed the House and intends to prohibit discrimination based on hair types and styles associated with a particular race.

When the legislators finished up, I was able to round up Reps. Mark Higley, Charles Wilson and Joseph Parsons.

Fortunately, they kicked off the day right, as they discussed the Constitution and the role of an elected official to serve their constituents. They discussed goals to help pass laws that are sound and serve the people — a feat proving difficult with a supermajority often unwilling to seek input from those in the minority party.

The record levels of compromised legislation recently coming from the supermajority are a grave concern for many. Act 127 is a prime example due to its unnecessary complexity and its accompanying property tax burden that has many Vermonters worried sick.

The Renewable Energy Standard ( H.289 ) is another high-risk, financially burdensome bill favored by the supermajority. The Department of Public Service estimated this RES will cost Vermonters almost $1 billion in electric ratepayer increases in the next decade. H.289 passed the House and now moves to the Senate.

Between Act 127, Act 18 (which I call the UN-affordable Heat Act) and H.289, Vermonters will increasingly struggle and pay significantly more for taxes, electric rates and heating fuel due to these regressive programs.

This is the real problem the supermajority has created, and Vermonters will continue to bear this burden until balance is restored in the Statehouse.

Moving along, we met with Rep. Jerrod Sammis, the only Libertarian to currently hold statewide office in the entire country. Sammis has a great voting record and will always uphold the rights of the people and make his voice heard in the House.

At noon we landed at the press conference which focused on banning/reducing PFAS (forever chemicals) and neonicotinoid pesticides. This press conference was a great opportunity for my students to learn how activism works.

Next we reconnected with Rep. Higley who explained his bill H.74 .

H.74 would make the most difference to set Vermont on the right course. The bill repeals the Global Warming Solutions Act and shifts carbon emission reductions to goals instead of requirements. This action would prevent the highly impulsive and expensive energy policy coming through the Legislature.

Current policy does nothing to benefit the environment; instead it hijacks the thermal sector and creates a virtue-signaling campaign accompanied with increased costs for products that are not luxury items.

H.74 would effectively remove this colossal problem and relieve the pressure valve in order to ensure that Vermont’s energy and environmental policy are economically viable and effective in achieving environmental goals.

While at the Statehouse the next day, I thanked the legislators for their time. It was here that I received one of the most significant pearls of wisdom from Rep. Higley. It sums up the difference between an honorable legislator versus the dangerous kind. He said that some legislators will talk about their vision and how it is critical in order to implement a plan for all. He then explained his approach, which is based on working to ensure people can create and move toward their own vision through the work he does to uphold and protect the rights of the people and maintain open paths and options, versus forcing one’s vision on others.

This is the fundamental difference between a great statesman and a social engineer. Those who want to force their version of “right reality” on the people, as opposed to those who honor differences and work to ensure that each of us holds the opportunity to achieve our unique goals. Vermont needs more statesmen and fewer social engineers hell-bent on spending Vermonters’ hard-earned money and making decisions for us.

These homeschoolers give me hope for the future. Maybe some will choose to enter the political arena and help our country and humanity hold on to the gift of liberty that we have received and must continue to secure. Activists for freedom and our Constitution would be quite refreshing. My intention is to try to help them understand the responsibility this gift demands: constant vigilance by the people to hold onto a just society free from tyranny. It was a great visit, and many thanks to all of the legislators we met at the Statehouse.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Alison Despathy: Homeschool civics at the Statehouse .