Knee-Jerk Politics

or

Cheerleaders Revisited

OK, this whole issue about the Harrison Recreation Cheerleaders, and fundraising for other Recreation programs seems to have taken on a life of its own. First I would like to review the actual facts of what has happened so far.

1 - The Hudson Press ran an article about how Dan Kelly had cancelled all out-of-state trips for the Harrison Cheerleaders.

2 - I responded to this article, and only this article, with a letter to the editor in the July 8 edition of the same paper.

3 - I was informed that Councilman Kelly has sent out a letter outlining this policy to all those involved in Harrison Recreation Programs, although I was unable to obtain a copy.

4 - The same letter to the editor was published in the Jersey Journal.

5 - A letter supporting Councilman Kelly's actions appeared in the July 22 edition of the Hudson Press, but had nothing to do with the letter I wrote. Instead, it defended the letter that Councilman Kelly had mailed out.

As I now understand it, Dan Kelly has decided that the people of Harrison aren't capable of running a safe fundraising campaign for their own children. Instead, "Daddy" Dan treats us like children by banning any such fundraising taking place. As a long time member of the Boy Scouts of America, I know from personal experience that fundraising, including door-to-door sales, can be both effective and safe if proper precautions are taken. Rather than set up a set of common-sense rules for these activities, "Daddy" Dan has decided to simply ban ALL fundraising. No pancake breakfasts, or spaghetti dinners, or even direct mail campaigns to raise the money needed to give our children the opportunities that they deserve. Instead, we will just have to rely on taxes and those programs that Councilman Kelly has decided are deserving enough.

This is really a silly issue to be talking about, but it does give us a glimpse of the big picture. Our town leaders, whom we elected to work for us, would rather tell us what to do and what not to do, than work on real solutions. Banning trips and fundraisers may be a no-brainer solution to the concerns of children's safety, but do we really elect people to give us no-brain results? I certainly hope not.