Doing the right thing.

It is a point that Mayor Steve DeBrum made repeatedly Tuesday night before the Manteca City Council voted 3-1 with Richard Silverman dissenting and Debby Moorhead absent to have the city and not the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6311 pay to install the commercial kitchen and bar at the Moffat Community Center now under construction.

And while there is no dispute at least from this corner that the council made the right decision, that doesn’t mean if Silverman’s viewpoint had prevailed that it would have been the wrong decision.

Silverman, in laying out his case for a loan versus the city paying to install the kitchen outright made it clear he has the utmost regard for veterans and the sacrifices they have made both in time of war and peace.

But Silverman — like fellow veteran Leonard Smith who spoke at the podium against the city funding the $115,000 kitchen and bar — had a legitimate viewpoint. Silverman recapped the events that led up to Tuesday’s decision noting the project to build the community center primarily for the use of veterans had unanimous council support. He also noted the VFW originally agreed not to have the kitchen included in the project and then sought a loan from the city to cover what they couldn’t fundraise in advance. Silverman also noted everyone was happy with the deal.

That said there was nothing devious about the effort to revisit whether the city should install the kitchen in the building that the city will own.

Besides his “a deal is a deal” argument, Silverman provided a list of things the community is forgoing in the coming year and longer that either need to be done or there is a desire to have that the $115,000 collected in bonus bucks could go for instead. He also believed there could have been more community benefit if the entire $1.3 million for the community center project went to other endeavors such as street maintenance.

It was a solid opportunity cost argument.

Silverman added that he takes his role as a steward of municipal finances seriously regardless of how the revenue is collected noting that “someone worked hard for the money.”

The debate leading up to the final decision is exactly what men and women like Silverman who have served in nation in times of war and peace stepped up to assure can happen.

A free exchange of ideas and views is the cornerstone of a democracy. As such, there is really no 100 percent “right thing to do” when it comes to government action and policy. We are a nation of clashing cultures, values, hopes, dreams, and fears constantly converging as the years roll on. It is how one day the death penalty, for example, can be the right thing and 30 years later as times, mores, and viewpoints evolve it can not necessarily be the right thing.

Dictatorships or autocracies by their very nature are rigid and therefore less likely to evolve. Whether you believe that is a good or bad thing, there is no dispute: What makes the American experiment in democracy unique is the fact it is fluid.

Some during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s meeting were questioning Silverman’s patriotism.

They should have been praising it.

Silverman was exercising an American birthright where minority views can be advanced and discussed and pushed for implementation.

A nation where majority prevails regardless of the situation quickly dissolves into a totalitarian state.

It is clear every veteran in the room Tuesday understood Silverman’s right to dissent and pursue a remedy they did not necessarily embrace.

They kept the debate on even keel and refrained from personal attacks. If only the same thing could be said for a whispering campaign that a few conducted.

It is incorrect to question the patriotism of someone simply because they dissent.

When the debate ended and the vote was taken, the council moved on.

It is why the Manteca Veterans Center aka Moffat Community Center moving toward completion on Moffat Boulevard will stand as a monument to the ideals that men and women have spilled their blood to secure.

They took an oath to put their lives on the line so America could remain free.

Whether you agree with some of the wars or skirmishes they were sent to fight in, one thing is clear — the soldier’s commitment to freedom and liberty is pure.

Every veteran in the council chambers Tuesday regardless of whether they served in war or peace or where their views fell on the kitchen debate defended the right for people to shape their community through elections and — for want of a better word — arguing for their position.



This column is the opinion of executive editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Bulletin or Morris Newspaper Corp. of CA.  He can be contacted at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com or 209.249.3519.