Vicki Ix: Plea for a bike path free of politics

I’ve been cycling on the bike path for over 10 years. In recent months, I’ve met new goals and reached endpoints that were just a dream in the beginning. A typical ride from Florence to Amherst is my new normal. I can’t tell you what that time means to me physically, mentally and spiritually. (I am an Episcopal priest and yes, it is possible to pedal and pray at the same time.)

This letter is a plea to Florence neighbors who are spray-painting political messages on the bike path. I will not repeat them here but simply note that a back-and-forth has begun between opposing camps. One message is covered over by another. It’s making me sad.

I want to affirm the right of every American to publicly declare allegiance to their party, their person, their platform with yard signs, bumper stickers and, most importantly, with their vote. We are not all on the same political page in Florence and part of our work as a community is making space for a variety of perspectives. As we head into another election cycle, many of us feel a dis-ease, even fear that we haven’t learned how to disagree peacefully, how to listen to one another for understanding rather than rebuttal.

Small villages, like Florence, can model civility and respect as part of the community ethos. This is why I am asking my neighbors to put down the spray paint and let the bike path — a place of peace and natural beauty — be a neutral zone where Republicans, Democrats and Independents can ride together and smile as we pass.

The Rev. Vicki Ix

The writer is vicar at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ashfield and lives in Florence.