
It is undeniably a metaphor for my life that I have to pass under this sign every time I go to Wegmans.
This week, a weirdly fresh scab was ripped off an old wound by a class project undertaken by one of my colleagues in sociology. In his political sociology course, Eric Bonds charged his students with undertaking “a community involvement project that would help them develop democracy skills and not simply vote in an election and then tune out.” The project that his class undertook was a petition and presentation to the Fredericksburg City Council arguing that they city should rename Jefferson Davis Highway (US Route 1) within the city limits. At the Tuesday evening meeting, the class made its presentation to council. Despite my irrational hope that somehow Fredericksburg wouldn’t be Fredericksburg on Tuesday evening, the proposal was roundly criticized and then summarily ignored. Members of the public who rose to comment were critical of the proposal on the grounds that “chang[ing[ the highway’s name … would ‘erase’ a piece of the city’s history.” Not only would City Council not entertain the petition, a motion to create a task force to study the issue couldn’t even get a second. In other words, Fredericksburg is still Fredericksburg. Read more