Report from a Townhall: The Difference

Went to my first August town hall this morning—actually was called by our congressman Jared Polis as more of a meeting in front of a local coffee shop but there were many more than the 30 people they expected. The local paper reported hundreds showed up with a video that made it look huge with lots of dialogue. (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/07/polis-mobbed-morning-coffee-chat-health-care/
A few anti-health care reformers in attendance, a couple anti-reform signs, some out-of-towners, a couple of whom tried to intimidate.

Rep Polis answered a few questions from the crowd before meeting with small groups for short conversations. The last question came from a self-identified conservative who respectfully spouted questionable statistics that sparked intermittent angry reactions from one or two people in the crowd to which the rest of the crowd urged “Shhhhhh.” “Let him speak.” Later I noticed anti reform people engaged in conversations with small groups of pro reform people. Again, I’d hear intermittent charged voices, often though not always, defused by civil responses.

We had a few police standing at a distance with a non-threatening or threatened stance, almost a reassuring presence.

Talking with an OFA field organizer, we reminisced about the ‘happy’ factor we experienced in our work for Obama’s candidacy during the Primary and Presidential campaigns—how our solidarity in believing in hope overwhelmed hostility and attacks. Remember the times ugliness surfaced? There were many trying and painful days back then that foreshadowed the quality of the opponent we face now—the opponent Barack Obama warned us we would need to be organized to face when he became President.

I’m not yet sure what self-righteous screaming and mean spirited insults are accomplishing that work for one side or the other. Will they scare us off? Lead us to sink to the ugliness in ourselves? Just doesn’t sound like a long-term strategy of the powerful but more a crying of the weak. In fact I think it is serving to alarm supporters of health care reform and motivate us to get up again and push hard for our voices to be heard. They are helping us mobilize--more people are asking me what they can do.

So I say to those fomenting this craziness: Though I admit you scare me, I’ll lean on my fellow volunteers to help me resist the weakness of fear and self-righteous anger in reaction to mean spirited insults and threats. We won during the Presidential Campaign with reason, compassion and hope and endless hours of hard grassroots work. People were drawn to that work partly because it felt so good to stand alongside others who imagined that things could be better for everyone. As President Obama said on election night, “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep…. I promise you – we as a people will get there…Yes we can.” http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGx3Kc

One way I learned during the campaign to manage my fear and anxiety was to take action. And it helped even more when others were there with me. Please check your representatives’ websites for August events you can attend to make sure your voice is counted.