Vermont votes: "Bring Em Home"

Vermont has always been a special state. Rablerousers one and all. The citizenry takes their politics and their civic duties very seriously. For instance, each year the citizens come together throughout the rural state and hold a "Town Meeting Day". Every year on the first Tuesday in March, the people of the Green Mountain state get together and participate in direct democracy; voting on all sorts of matters, big and small.

This year they voted on a resolution concerning something that concerns the entire world. The Iraq War. The war has effected Vermonters greatly. Randolph T. Holhut points out:

For a tiny state with about 600,000 people, Vermont has paid a high price in Iraq. More than 1,100 Vermont Army National Guard members - about half of the total force - have been called up to active duty. Of the state's 242 towns, 200 have sent Guard members to war - the largest deployment since World War II.

Vermont ranks second in the nation in per capita enrollment in the military and leads the nation in combat deaths per capita. Fifteen Vermonters, including four Vermont Guard members, have died in Iraq.

The resolution called for the state leaders to restore a "proper balance" between state and federal control of the Guard and asks Congress to recall US forces from Iraq as quickly as possible.

This past Tuesday the resolution passed in 48 of 57 Vermont communities. Only three communities voted against it. The rest either voted in a tie or chose to delay the vote.

Even though the resolution holds no legal sway, the citizens of Vermont have made their opinions known with a voice clear and proud. I'm not sure if participatory democracy will ever work in Iraq - but I know it's alive and well in the Green State.