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鎮民大會
地方性遺產
您參加過鎮民大會嗎？您知道它如何開會的嗎？在佛蒙特及其他地方，鎮民大會是當地政府的一般形式。
在這些會議中，所有的市民都歡迎來討論當地事務，如：經營學校及政府的成本，而稅總是會議上的討論重點；稅率是否應該增收或降低？應購買何種型式的電腦？如何處理遲繳的財產稅？這些只是一些鎮民大會上可能會討論及表決的議題。
佛蒙特大學(University
of Vermont)的政治學教授布萊恩(Frank
Bryan)將鎮民大會稱做「民主的奧祕火焰」(Secret
Flame of Democracy)。但某些人則認為鎮民大會已經失去它的用途。他們表示鎮民大會的政府型態已經不適用規模漸大且越來越複雜的美國社會。其他人則相信鎮民大會仍活躍在各個城鎮，但卻有問題。他們表示出席鎮民大會的人多為自營業者、退休職員或其他不用在日常上班日工作的人，所以他們不能精確的反應鎮內大多數市民的觀點。
您認為鎮民大會還會繼續存在嗎？
Have you ever been to a town meeting? Do you know what goes on in one? Town meetings are a popular form of local government in Vermont and elsewhere.
During these meetings, all citizens are welcome to discuss local issues such as the cost of running the schools and government. Taxes are almost always an issue. Should they be raised or lowered? What type of computers should be purchased? What to do about overdue property taxes? These are just some of the topics that could be discussed and voted on at a town meeting.
University of Vermont political science professor Frank Bryan calls the town meeting the "Secret Flame of Democracy." But some people think the town meeting has outgrown its usefulness. They say that American society has grown too large and complex for the town-meeting style of government. Others think that town meetings are "alive, but troubled." They say that town meetings are mostly attended by those who are self-employed, retired, or otherwise not working at regular daytime jobs, so they cannot accurately reflect the views of the majority of the town's citizens.
Do you think the town meeting will survive?
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