An American Pastoral

An American Pastoral chronicles the struggle within a rural central Pennsylvanian community over the future of their public schools, where a vitriolic debate over books cloaks a more fundamental question: the future of our secular democracy.

Nestled in a valley among Lancaster County’s rolling farmland, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania has all the charm of small town America. But behind this bucolic veneer lies a fracture in the making.

Change has come to Etown. And nowhere is it more apparent than at the local school board meetings. Like schools across the nation, these once sleepy public meetings have become a toxic theater of grievance. After months of vitriolic debates over Covid-19 restrictions, budget priorities, and library books, four of the five long-serving Republican incumbents have chosen retirement over the prospect of further death threats, intimidation, and likely defeat at the polls.

In this red district, a grassroots movement of far-right dominionist Christians have followed Steve Bannon’s precinct playbook: seizing control of the local Republican committee and securing three school board seats in the last election. With five seats up this cycle, just two seats would secure the far-right’s control over the board and usher in a new, theocratic vision for Etown’s public schools.

An American Pastoral chronicles the struggle of engaged citizens to determine the future of their local public schools. In 2023, voters will choose between three slates: one endorsed by the Democratic party and two competing Republican lists.

In this off-year election, turnout will be low. In this divisive climate, voter education is more important than ever.

After many months of campaigning, the choice is now up to voters. The mandate of those elected to the school board is four years: an eternity. At stake—and everyone here knows it—is the future of public education. At least to start with.