To the Editor:

Authoritarianism is alive and well in the town of Berne. We have just witnessed the end of a presidency consumed with telling lies; the biggest of which was that the election had been fraudulent and that the election was stolen.

The final result of that big lie was the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. No matter your politics, that insurrection amply demonstrates how fragile our democracy has always been and what the inevitable byproduct of authoritarianism always will be.

However, don’t think that the same sort of mindless marching to hidden agendas, forbidding public participation, and a steadfast refusal to allow all segments of our small community to have a voice in our local government is not a variant of the same madness we have been subjected to on a national level.

The present Republican-backed majority town board in Berne is playing the same game. This board refuses to allow public comment. It insults long-standing citizen volunteers by simply disbanding portions of town government.

It posts shameless political smears on its websites. It illegally goes into “executive session” for the sole purpose of harassing a duly elected board member whose sole sin is the fact that he is a member of the opposite political party.

It ignores its fiduciary duties to protect public assets and instead actively attempts to downgrade those assets (witness the recent lawsuit brought by Mr. [Thomas] Spargo in an attempt to remove protective covenants from Switzkill Farm).

These are the same kinds of tactics used by authoritarian thugs around the world and were the preferred modus operandi of the past president.

Real damage is being done to our town government. Hatred and animosity are the present and immediate results. The long-term damage is hard to fathom, but it won’t be pretty.

The collective voice of democracy must also be heard in Berne. Write, speak out, talk to your neighbors, call town board members and voice your disapproval. Of course, when all else fails, utilize the superior tool of our constitution: VOTE!

Lawrence Zimmerman

East Berne

Editor’s note: Lawrence Zimmerman is a member of the Berne Planning Board.