Vandalism is a cowardly act. Willful destruction of public property is a crime. But destroying the holiday lights on the Common’s stately but aging spruce falls into a category all its own. In admittedly old-fashioned terms, it’s an assault on common decency. In the broader political sense, it’s an attack on the honorable idea that in this little corner of the world, no one person has the right to dictate how our common spaces look.
There’s no question the lights were controversial. Some people thought they were hideous. But residents who were offended by the lights were working with the Parks and Recreation Commission to come up with a solution. Given adequate time and money, it’s not that difficult to get new lights and find a company to string them in a traditional way, if that’s what the town wants. But it takes time and money and an effort to find out what the town wants.
In an ideal world, the vandals would be identified and required to pay for the purchase and installation of new lights. Regrettably, that’s not likely to happen.
But we hope this incident will inspire more town residents to join with Parks and Rec in its effort to make sure that the tree will light up the Common once again this holiday season and for many years to come.
