ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the impact of 9/11 on the politics of the local, on the school board in Madison, Wisconsin. Sadness, disbelief, and shock were registered, but, just as often, anger and a resurgent patriotism came to the fore. The politics of interruption became even more important because these complicated pedagogical issues and the contradictory emotions and politics that were produced in the aftermath of 9/11 were felt well beyond the walls of the university classroom. At times they also had the effect of radically transforming the politics of governance of schooling at a local level in communities throughout the United States. Throughout it all, the school board members tried to remain civil and not respond to what were at times quite personal attacks on their patriotism. In many ways the hours upon hours of the meeting and the intense conflicts that ensued could be interpreted as an example of democracy in action.
