David Reel of Easton, Maryland, is a public affairs and public relations consultant.
Once every year for the past 49 years, people from nearby and beyond travel to Crisfield in Somerset County, Maryland. Crisfield is the southernmost incorporated city in the state and is also widely referred to as the “Seafood Capital of the World.”
This annual journey to Crisfield is to participate in the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake, often referred to as “Tawes.”
The event honors Crisfield native J. Millard Tawes, the first and only Marylander to be elected state comptroller, governor and state treasurer. It was launched originally as a community gathering for Crisfield and nearby residents.
Since then, attendance has grown, as Tawes has become a popular meet-and-greet schmoozefest, with countless numbers of local, state and national politicians in attendance.
Paul Ellington, who was a campaign adviser for numerous candidates from both major political parties, has said on the news site Maryland Matters, “If you love Maryland politics, it’s the place to be.”
That was certainly the case this year, when WBOC News estimated that 4,000 people attended Tawes. They came despite ominous weather forecasts of torrential rain and high winds, which ultimately did not materialize.
For some attendees, Tawes is a place to enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet. That buffet includes crabs, oysters, fish, corn on the cob, french fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings and watermelon, plus water, soda and beer, all for $75 a person.
For other attendees, Tawes is a chance to meet government officials, from the governor to members of town councils.
Candidates and officeholders at Tawes this year included: Gov. Wes Moore; Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman; state treasurer Dereck Davis; Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox; 1st Congressional District candidates Andy Harris and Dan Schwartz; and state Sens. Mary Beth Carozza and Steve Hershey.
Appointed officeholders in the Moore administration at Tawes this year included Maryland secretary of agriculture Kevin Atticks and former Eastern Shore Delegate Carl Anderton, who now serves as the director of rural economic strategy at the state’s Department of Commerce.
On the drive home from Tawes, I thought about what made it special.
It is not just abundant amounts of great fresh seafood.
It is not just an opportunity to catch up with long-term friends and colleagues, as well as meet and get to know new friends.
It is not just an opportunity to meet a wide array of government officials in a relaxed and quiet spot in Maryland.
It is not that Tawes is open and welcoming to the public. Anyone and everyone willing and able to travel to Crisfield is welcome to purchase a ticket and attend.
It is all of the above reasons, plus one more that makes Tawes very special.
It came to me on my drive back to Easton. I turned on the radio for the latest news from Washington, D.C. Per usual, the news made me depressed, frustrated and angry.
The news was dominated by reports on the never-ending lack of civil discourse and overall civility in Washington. It is not new, and it gives every indication it may be permanent.
The news included the latest details on Republicans and Democrats arguing, grandstanding and lobbing insults at each other. No wonder a September Ballotpedia Polling Index showed a 39% job performance approval for Donald Trump’s second term and an even lower 34% approval rating for Congress.
Tawes was a welcome respite from the toxicity and lack of civil discourse in our society that has resulted in deep divides and even permanent estrangement from friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors over intense disagreements about politics and election outcomes.
That is not to say everyone attending Tawes shared the same perspectives on politics and public policy issues. Far from it.
What I did experience at Tawes was that it was a place to engage in civil discourse with every attendee I met for the first time.
My experience was the same, regardless of our party affiliations, our support for different candidates or our support for a wide range of contentious policy issues of the day.
Tawes is an oasis in a desert environment, where people interested and active in politics can have strongly held positions that were not barriers to engaging in civil discussions before and after elections, regardless of the outcomes.
We listened to each other, respecting the fact that listening is more than waiting for your turn to talk.
We respected each other with an unspoken code of conduct to not use our possible differences of opinions to conclude that the other person was a Nazi, a fascist, a racist, a bigot, a communist, a socialist, a deplorable, an uninformed person or worse.
Tawes confirms that good people can agree to disagree on politics without being disagreeable.
Going forward, Tawes can and should serve as a model for political discussions everywhere.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
