F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless, yet be determined to make them otherwise.”

Such is a paradox — two things that appear to be opposites yet are inextricably linked. Can you have light without darkness, for example?

The United States of America was founded on the principle of freedom, and a paradox of freedom of responsibility. This means that freedom and responsibility co-exist, and you can’t have one without the other. It is not an either/or proposition. You cannot declare and enjoy the benefits of your freedoms without exercising your responsibility. 

As we prepare to celebrate the 246th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the concept of freedom has been on the forefront of my mind. 

Many Americans who came before us sacrificed much--often their lives--to give us this incredible gift. Like many, I will spend this weekend celebrating our freedom and giving thanks to those who paid it forward to “let freedom ring.” 

As we view freedom and responsibility through the lens of education, at the Education Foundation we believe we have an incumbent responsibility to support students as they develop their plans beyond high school so they are prepared to exercise their freedom of choice. 

By expanding student options, leveraging their potential, and helping them plan to go further, in turn they will be more poised to have the freedom of choice and freedom of opportunity to seize for their betterment.

We see the spirit of responsibility alive and well with community and school leaders’ partnerships and with donors’ incredible generosity. We have seen firsthand the difference made at our Student Success Centers established in high schools in North Port, Riverview, Sarasota and Sarasota Polytechnical, and at the community-wide LaunchPad4U located in Downtown Sarasota. 

We are excited that the district has recognized the value of Student Success Centers as the district continues to lean into its strategic plan using federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. 

The Student Success Centers have been privately managed and staffed by Education Foundation employees, and over the summer our four campus-based Student Success Centers will be transitioning to the school district for their ongoing operations.

As such, they will continue to fulfill our and the district’s responsibility to prepare students for life after school. Meanwhile, the Education Foundation will continue offering services at LaunchPad4U, and we will open a new Student Success Center at Sarasota Military Academy as we also connect with students directly in the community. 

Freedom and responsibility go hand-in-hand. It’s a duality that expands possibilities and teaches us to say, “yes, and…” Now, what will you do with your freedom?

Jennifer Vigne is president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Image courtesy Pixabay

If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s that the patterns of our lives—the reliable and newly familiar—are constantly in flux.

Since January, I have found myself revisiting familiar patterns. Dinners with friends, meeting new residents and learning what has brought them to our community and special celebrations have eased their way back into my life. While some of the new openings in my life have retracted since COVID rates have increased, here was a moment in which the sharing of physical space had supplanted many virtual meetings and Zoom screen interactions.

In fact, after a two-year pause, my husband, Mike, and I are even back to training for our annual bicycle ride across Iowa, RAGBRAI, in July. I am grateful to have been able to maintain connections with friends and family members through new and ever-improving technology; however, the rhythms of our traditions, now that I’ve been reacquainted with them, are a drum beat that is louder – and more important to me – than ever.

Last month I reunited with my siblings – Scott, Steve and Barb – for the first time without any spouses or children since our mom passed in 2014. We visited Lake Geneva north of Chicago for a long weekend. Each of us resumed long-familiar roles – the organizer, the caretaker, the jokester, the questioner. I’ll let you guess who’s who. While we have each inevitably changed over our lifetimes, we realized that how we take care of one another holds constant.

This rare, precious time with family reminded me that we begin to build our family legacies early in life. While we all evolve and fine tune who we are over our lifetimes, we are connected to each other with ties that bind us as we move through the decades of our lives. Our traditions and shared memories connect us to the people we trust and offer a bridge to welcome new friends into our lives.

As we head into the summer months with their longer daylight hours, I look forward to having more time to savor simple pleasures. I plan to use the gift of time to reflect on how my siblings have made a difference in my life. I want to find ways to share the gifts they have given me – their humor, their joy, their tenacity – with others who may never meet my sister and brothers, but who will be able to know a small piece of them through interactions with me. In this way, we carry on the legacies of other peoples’ lives, so that their mark on the world is amplified.

If you have the opportunity to spend some time in reflection this summer, please consider who has shaped your life, and what qualities of theirs you most admire. Take time to think about the ways in which you are a conduit of the admirable qualities of your peers and loved ones. I would love to know about them and what they have brought to you during different passages. Sharing the best of another’s spirit is something that is always in season.

Roxie Jerde is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Photo courtesy RAGBRAI.

Several Democrat-prompted media reports have tried desperately to link the Republican Party of Sarasota County with the Proud Boys. It’s understandable. Their candidates for Sarasota County School Board are tarred with the deeply unpopular controversies of critical race theory, hyper sexualized school curriculum and increasing efforts to enforce a trans indoctrination in our public schools — all of which are deeply opposed by Sarasota County parents.

Those terrible ideas are also opposed by Republican Party-backed School Board candidates Bridget Ziegler, Tim Enos and Robyn Marinelli.

Democrat operatives understand how unpopular those issues are, and so the old playbook of deflect-and-smear is pulled out. They have continually tried to link School Board candidates promising to put parental rights and children’s education first to the Proud Boys. That has now been expanded to the local Republican Party. This playbook has been used repeatedly in recent elections cycles for legislators and as usual, it’s tenuous to non-existent.

So let’s be clear: The Republican Party of Sarasota County is not affiliated with the Proud Boys and will not be. We don’t even know what all they believe because it is impossible to trust any media coverage. We are not a part of that group and that group is not a part of our Party. But we also do not and will not vet every individual American who wants to get involved, sifting through every organization they are or have been part of or grill them on any unclean thoughts. We are not the thought control police that the Democratic Party has become.

Let’s also be clear: This is a smear campaign against School Board candidates and the local Republican Party for the sole reason that the Democrat candidates are being smothered in their own deeply unpopular ideas, and their large financial war chests may not be enough to overcome that.

We hope this unequivocal statement ends the smears, but we know better. The Democrats will continue to run the deflect-and-smear playbook and their media will continue to help them.

Jack Brill is acting chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota County.