Climbing Mt Mansfield |
 Vermont has been described as “one of the sanest, most scenic states” in the USA. Speaking as a political scientist, I should add that Vermont is a case study in change. In 1936 it was one of just two states that did not vote to re-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt as President. By the 1990s, however, Vermont was repeatedly returning a self-described socialist to the US House of Representatives. Because a climbing friend of mine, Peggy McKay Shinn, and her family live in Vermont, I’ve been fortunate to have visited the state five times. |