CHERYL MITCHELL

Most mornings the granddaughters and I drive to New Haven Town Hall to catch the Tri-Valley bus to Bristol. When we arrive at the bus stop we jump out of the car, practice our Tae Kwon Do or Tai Chi moves and then start dancing, often to the song “Red” from the Disney movie “Descendants.” It has a great beat and encourages us to bust some pretty dramatic moves as we chant the lyrics:

“I’m on a path of destruction

This is gonna be fun

Set it off, go berserk

Tonight, I light it up like fireworks

Tear it down, then paint this town

Red, Red, Red”

The four segments of the Descendants movie play with the concept that the offspring of fairy tale and comic book heroes and villains can eventually work together to make a better world for everyone. In the process they go back in time to undo some of the harms caused by their ancestors.

Dancing to the lyrics of “Red” gives me a kinesthetic sense of the mindset and exuberance of those currently taking over the leadership of our country. As I get past being totally terrified of what might happen in the future, I gradually understand those destructive impulses a bit more deeply. There is something inherently exciting about destroying things, about watching things go up in smoke and flames. It is so much easier than building things, painstakingly and carefully over the years.

Even though I am still mildly terrified of what might happen in our country, it is reassuring to know that here in Vermont we have taken a different path. Like the descendants of heroes and villains, we are learning to address problems head-on, often working together to find transformative solutions. All over the state small groups are meeting: planning to protect those who might be on a hit list, planning to keep our local economies vibrant in the face of changed economic policies, planning to assure that all our young children still get the support they need to grow and thrive.

However, some of the challenges are huge. For many years Vermont has struggled with outrageous increases in the cost of health care, diminishing access to care, and worsening outcomes. Last year the Green Mountain Care Board commissioned an independent study of our hospital and health care system from Oliver Wyman. The findings — released to the public this fall — are a wakeup call. The findings predict that if we don’t make any significant changes, our health care system will implode in the next five years. Hospitals will close, fewer and fewer people will have access to care, practitioners will leave the state, and prices will continue to climb.

We can either help to burn it down, by refusing to acknowledge what is happening and blaming other people and institutions, or we can take the Vermont path: working together to find reasonable solutions.

Another song in “Descendants” that we sometimes dance to is “You Gotta Get Your Hands Dirty.” It is a reminder that things won’t change unless we get personally engaged.

New structures to help us engage are already emerging in Vermont. We are looking back in time to make reparations for harms done in the past to vulnerable communities, reviewing objective data about health care and asking for more detail, opening our minds to learn from other states and nations. There are hearings sponsored by legislative and civic organizations, a new non-profit seeking solutions to our health care crisis, and community events sponsored by the Humanities Council and many faith communities.

While it is easy to tear things down, it is more valuable to build things up, and Vermont offers us so many ways to make a difference. My plan is to shake out my fear and dismay through some wild dancing in the parking lot and then join others creating the Vermont we want our descendants to inherit.

Cheryl Mitchell is president of Treleven, a retreat and learning program located on her family’s sheep farm in Addison County. She does freelance consulting on issues related to children, families, social policy and farm to community work. She can be reached at [email protected].