Editorials
Represent US!
"This is still the United States of America and people have the right to be heard."
These are the words of U.S. Representative James P. McGovern following a town hall meeting in Worcester, MA on Tuesday, August 4th to discuss the universal health insurance program. And they are words that I agree with wholeheartedly.
Town hall meetings are the best form of consensus that exists. They allow for an elected official to hear from gathered constituents on issues at hand. He or she can then go forth and have a full grasp of how best to represent his or her constituency that is counting on having their elected official make their collective voice heard.
"The meeting wasn't perfect and it wasn't always polite but I got the opportunity to express my view on the subject.”
Such a statement from any constituent at a town hall meeting is probably a great summation of how all successful town hall meetings conclude. It should be the ultimate goal of the participants of the town hall meeting to make their opinions heard and understood, and the ultimate goal of the elected official to understand and hear his or her constituents.
The problem with the above quote is that it also comes from U.S. Rep James McGovern.
Now, I do not know Mr. McGovern. And I stress that I write this not as a Democrat or Republican, nor as a formal member of any particular organization. I simply write this as a normal everyday American citizen.
For those that have not heard the details of the town meeting, the crowd was described as "generally hostile" by one news outlet. Another news outlet described the same crowd as "GOP activists." What actually happened, as is happening in similar town hall meetings nationwide, is that citizens expressed their concerns over the proposed healthcare bill. The meeting ended up raucous and one only need look at other similar town hall meetings - in Denver, Michigan, Houston, St. Louis, or Tampa (where a poor guy even got beat up) - to see why.
Across the nation, elected officials are hosting town hall meetings in an attempt to rally support for the universal healthcare program. The problem is, the people that are attending are not in support of the bill. Some merely just have several concerns that they'd like addressed. And a great deal of people's concern is that the bill itself (weighing in at 1017 pages) is not even being read by their elected officials! However, as you see in the stories and videos emerging from these meetings, the elected officials are reacting to these concerns with dismissal and disdain. Others like Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer are even making outright outlandish claims of the detractors. And this is a big problem.
The usual response to opposition being voiced at these town hall meetings is that the participants must be part of an organization that has "infiltrated" the meeting. Here's the thing: they're right. They are part of the greatest organization - American citizens who are responsible enough to to get off their couch, go to a town hall meeting, and participate. They are people that would rather discuss political action than Paula Abdul.
How dare anyone dismiss these people's concerns?
Town hall meetings are open forums for all people to come. They are where democracy happens. If a majority of your constituents express opposition to something, it is the elected official's DUTY to listen and represent that opposition when he or she returns to Washington. Likewise, if a majority of your constituents express support for something, it is your duty to represent that support when you return to Washington. It doesn't matter how many people are gathered at the town hall that believe one way or another. Everyone had the chance to show up and the people that are there expressing themselves are the ones that cared enough to do so! Represent them!
My message to James McGovern and other elected officials is a simple one: your voice is OUR voice. Your voice is not YOUR voice.
I have purposely avoided declaring either my support or opposition to universal healthcare as well as political affiliation. Because it simply should not matter nor be a means of dismissal of opinion. The bottom line is that, if I was an elected official who vehemently opposed universal health care or any other issue, but my constituents at a town hall meeting vociferously were in support of it, then it would be my duty to go back to Washington and represent my constituents by supporting the legislation at hand. Similarly, if I was all in for universal healthcare or any other issue, but my constituents spoke out loudly in opposition, then it would be my duty to represent their viewpoint. An elected official's own personal view on any issue does not trump those of the people they represent - that is the specific purpose for which they were chosen!
Nationwide, we are seeing that this is not the case, however. And people are getting fed up of it. They are fed up of not being properly represented by their elected officials and dismissed as disingenuous when they speak up. I conclude by asking U.S. Rep James McGovern and others like him to please be aware of this, or they may soon find themselves replaced by their own constituents.
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