Category: Granite Views

New Hampshire took a huge step a few days ago, announcing that it would lift its statewide mask mandate and start to relax other Covid safety measures. Gov. Chris Sununu attributed the moves to New Hampshire’s high rate of vaccination.

New Hampshire leads the country in the percentage of people who have received at least one dose — almost 60 percent as of April 18, according to NPR. Sununu cited New Hampshire’s vaccination rate and our decreased fatality rate as the factors behind his decision to lift the mask mandate, according to media reports.

New Hampshire’s success has been a marriage of good governance and our good sense. State government has acted with urgency to make it easy for anyone who wants to be vaccinated to be vaccinated. And the people of New Hampshire have responded by taking the state up on its offer. I was at a vaccine distribution center last week and was able to get vaccinated in just a few minutes.

Though we’re moving in the right direction and estimates are that by mid-July 85 percent of Granite Staters will be fully vaccinated, this won’t happen unless people continue to make the personal decision to get vaccinated. I do see a fair amount of vaccine hesitancy. And I understand it. These are new vaccines. However, just in the United States 212 million doses of the Covid vaccines have already been administered with few side effects. Former President Donald Trump and his wife were vaccinated before leaving office as was Vice President Mike Pence. President Joe Biden and his wife, Gov. Sununu and all the Congressional delegation have been vaccinated.

My point is that the vaccines are exceedingly safe. The faster we get vaccinated the faster we can expect life to return to normal. But this is one of those times when we need to support our neighbors and rely on them. Just you or me getting the vaccine isn’t enough. Seventy to 85 percent of people in the country need to be vaccinated for the disease to essentially die out. And while you may be young and healthy and the virus may not harm you (though it surely might) you’re doing this for those whom Covid does have a greater chance of harming. We’re asked every day to do things that are not only good for us but benefit our society. This is one of those things. Go to vaccines.nh.gov to find a place near you to get vaccinated. Do your part to return us to normal.

Over my nine years working at Leadership NH, we often asked the participants: “What kind of state do we have and what kind of state do we want?” I am disheartened when I see legislation like HB 266, HB 434, and, of course, HB 544 in this year’s session. All of them work to undermine the kind of state that I want by working to impose anti-immigration efforts that law enforcement across the state oppose (HB 266), and attack reproductive health (HB 434), and remove conversations about one’s race and sex in all of our public spaces (HB 544). 

While many of our lawmakers are working to outlaw our existing inclusive practices, they are also upholding and expanding laws that put some of our most vulnerable populations at risk. 

Earlier in the year, the House tabled HB 238, a bill that would prohibit a defendant in a manslaughter case from using the alleged victim’s sexuality or gender identity as a defense for why the defendant was provoked into action as well as any actual or perceived romantic advances made by the victim.   

Our state made national headlines when the House voted to expand “stand your ground” laws. Under current law, someone can use deadly force to protect themselves and their family during the commission of a felony inside their homes. The bill sent to the Senate would expand that self-defense law to cases in which a felony is committed against a person in a vehicle. 

Fear is clearly the motive behind so many of these bills, and this is only a small sampling of what our legislators are debating in this legislative year. When fright is at the core of the work, it limits what we and our state can accomplish and become into the future.

What decision have you made out of distress that resulted in happiness? I have a hard time remembering any of my anxiety-based decisions resulting in true contentment, and I imagine I’m not alone in that struggle. 

If you, like me, want New Hampshire to foster a culture that centers on humanity and potential then we must act to stop these bills from becoming law. Reach out to your elected officials, neighbors, friends and colleagues, and encourage them to act against these efforts. There is promise on the horizon but we cannot favor complacency in getting there. Otherwise the state we have may no longer be the state we want.  

Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. I have found the increase in sunlight hours and warmer weather to be invigorating, inspiring hope and infusing optimism. I’ve noticed more people are out when I am out on my neighborhood walks, often with dogs or baby strollers, and strangers exchange friendly greetings in passing. My walking partner and I have optimistically started a couch-to-5K app regimen. My elderly mother has resumed her daily laps around the driveway, slowly regaining strength and endurance as she shakes off the winter and arthritic deconditioning from months spent indoors. And my husband is carefully tending and planting fig cuttings to grow more fruit trees.

Additionally, with 40.1 percent of New Hampshire’s total population with at least one dose, and 19.2 percent fully vaccinated, according to an April 4 report from NPR, and now all residents age 16 and older eligible, I sense the heightened anticipation for our return to some semblance of the pre-Covid “normal.” And while we patiently wait for all our family and friends to get vaccinated, I am excited to resume safe, outdoor socializing with others, including backyard barbecues and evenings around a firepit, all facilitated by the warmer weather, as social interactions are a really vital contributor to our mental health and well-being.

We know that the pandemic has resulted in many of us feeling isolated and lonely, with increased stress and anxiety, thus necessitating learning healthy ways to cope with stress and build resilience; and sometimes requiring professional assistance. Connecting with others, talking with people we trust about our feelings, and sharing our concerns through meaningful conversation are powerful coping tools. Unwinding, whether alone or with friends, undertaking activities we find enjoyable and doing good and helping others are also helpful for our well-being, as are efforts to take care of our bodies, such as regular physical activity, eating healthfully, getting plenty of sleep, and avoiding excessive alcohol, tobacco and other substance use.

Finally, connecting with community can be really impactful. For me this has manifested as returning to church after a year to resume playing music with others, thanks to being fully vaccinated. And so I returned to accompany the lone keyboardist who has carried on this past year; the other musicians and singers are looking forward to returning once they are vaccinated, as well. In my faith, Easter Sunday is of monumental significance, and the new life and new joy of the occasion was evident in the upbeat and celebratory music and rhythms that stirred clapping and swaying and inspired hope for new beginnings.

As the warmth and wonder of spring unfold, what new opportunities will you be exploring?

This week’s issue is a celebration of many of the things that make up what many of us have come to think of as our community and our quality of life. It’s Hippo’s Best of 2021 issue, where you tell us what you like best about your community.

We made a few changes this year to reflect the realities of the effects of the pandemic on our community, including more questions relating to outdoor activities and removing some relating to live performances. We also changed how we classified the Best of picks. We kept the Best of the Best — those are the top vote getters in a category — but rather than having geographic Best of picks, such as Best of Manchester, we classified the next four top picks as “Readers Bests.” We hope you enjoy the results and explore (once you feel safe to do so) your community. The results start on page 10.

One of my favorite parts of the Hippo Best of is the Smaaart answers we get. When asked to name the “Thing New Hampshire does better than any other state,” many folks answered maple syrup or four seasons or the great outdoors or live free and others suggested, “hate Massachusetts,” or “just not Massachusetts,” and others hit on a drinking theme with answers such as “booze” or “great beer” or “liquor stores on the highway.”

On a question where we asked readers to fill in the blank — “2021 in NH: Year of the __” — we also got some creative answers. They included “mask,” “Covid,” “lockdown,” “pandemic” and “Oh God, what now,” but there were also a few that went in different directions, such as lobsters, cider doughnuts, beer, babies, divorce, smiles and tattoos. I guess I can see that too much cider doughnuts and beer leads to babies and divorce and soon to follow are smiles and tattoos. “Oh God, what now.”

One of the more surprising reader answers came from our multiple-choice question asking whether vegetables on pizza are a crime against pizza, OK in the case of __ vegetable, or always delicious. One of our vote-counters asked if we were being punked because a fair number of people answered, “broccoli.” Clearly that vote counter is in the George H.W. Bush camp. But as you can see on page 13 the great majority of Hippo readers think veggies on pizza are A-OK (a sentiment I share). I even like broccoli on pizza, though probably not enough to mention it by name.

Thank you to everyone who voted and congratulations to all the winners — even broccoli.

Walking and talking is the new coffee date. I’m glad; I relish any opportunity to combine fresh air, movement and conversation. By necessity, though, many interactions now take place online, either Zoom meetings where you can’t really talk, even when unmuted, or FaceTime chats. This got me thinking about who I have or have not been keeping up with during the pandemic. 

To our surprise, a professional friend and I recently found ourselves bemoaning the loss of rubber chicken dinners. If you haven’t had the pleasure, these were large-scale annual meetings, fundraisers and award ceremonies hosted by organizations from nonprofits to political groups to media outlets. In spring there were a handful of must-attend events where leaders and lobbyists, mentors and movers, accomplished honorees and ambitious newcomers alike would gather. Frequent flyers might run into each other at functions every week or two in the fall. We used to grumble mildly about lukewarm food or lengthy speakers; nowwe yearn for a chance to mill around in a room full of even tangential acquaintances. In this year of social distancing, we’ve been keeping up pretty well with our family and close friends, but our circle has frayed at the edges. 

Why does this matter? The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull recently explored the issue. While close relationships have long been recognized as essential to well-being, the pandemic has underscored that casual friends are important, too. They make us feel part of a community, part of the world. They make mundane errands enjoyable. They introduce us to new business and recreational opportunities, information, issues and ideas. “Peripheral connections tether us to the world at large; without them, people sink into the compounding sameness of closed networks.” 

Even before the pandemic, surveys by StayWorkPlay, the organization that helps New Hampshire attract young workers, revealed many found it hard to make friends here. Some cited a lack of gathering places, others the lack of diversity. They felt a sense of “aloneness.” The pandemic has exacerbated this. When asked what she seeks going forward, a college student I know from church said, “If I could change something, [it would be] getting those little intimate connections back, the ones that make us a community, the greetings on the street, catching up with an old friend, the feeling that you are intimately part of a larger group.” 

It’s time to rekindle our acquaintanceship. Want to go for a walk?

Susan Hatem, former Director of Programs and Grant Making at New Hampshire Humanities, is a CASA of NH guardian ad litem and a connector, mentor and writer. Email her at [email protected].

In their book Scaling Leadership, Robert Anderson and William Adams note that “Leaders bring the weather.” They further note that the tone, mood, presence, focus and behavior of the leader is the weather in any organization — a force of nature. And everyone who works there can feel it, see it, experience it and describe how it impacts them and those around them.

All leaders bring the weather — organizational leaders or elected government leaders. In New Hampshire, we have a lot of elected state leaders. There are 400 leaders in the House of Representatives, 24 leaders in the Senate, five leaders on the Executive Council, and then of course, our governor. I wonder if these 430 leaders realize that they bring the “weather” to the state by their statements, actions and behavior?

I am a bit of a political junkie, and I will read just about any publication and any article written covering state and federal issues. Needless to say, I am frequently left scratching my head. As an example, US News & World Report recently picked up this headline, “New Hampshire Lawmaker Apologies for Anti-LGBTQ Language,” a story about Manchester Rep. Dick Marston’s apology after referring to LGBTQ people as having “deviant sexuality” in a Zoom House committee hearing. As InDepthNH and other sources reported, earlier in that same meeting, Manchester Rep. Nicole Klein-Knight appeared to take a gummy from her bottle of medical cannabis (“prescribed medication for arthritis,” she later tweeted), apparently trying to make a point during a discussion of two bills, including one related to fines for the possession of marijuana and therapeutic cannabis. WMUR reported on the House’s use of a University of New Hampshire facility for its sessions last year. House Speaker Steve Shurtleff had to apologize to UNH leadership this past September after some members were drinking beer in the hall and failed to wear masks outside the facility, violating UNH and town ordinances. Did I mention the head-scratching?

Let’s be clear. We have many outstanding, hard-working leaders in Concord who are essentially volunteering their time to serve the citizens of New Hampshire, and they deserve our respect and gratitude. Unfortunately, that behavior is not what typically makes the news. Instead of providing the attention-getting headlines described above, wouldn’t it be better if there were more to report on in terms of bipartisan work being pushed out of the House and Senate? Wouldn’t that be a better weather report from our elected leadership?