NovemberRevolution2010

 
 
If you have attended or watched a debate or a town hall meeting, you’ve likely encountered heated exchanges among opposing groups. In some instances, fist fights and other forms of violence have been recorded. The case for civility has been replaced by the case for being heard, even if it’s by shouting over the candidates speaking.

I certainly would never advocate violence or disruptive behavior in settings that are clearly reserved for cooler or calmer heads, but I can understand how this behavior transpires. When a large group is repeatedly denied access to simply have their opinions heard, you are likely to see frustration build to an eruption like we have seen in these debates and town hall meetings. For over two years a large section of Americans have sought to have their grievances heard by their representative government and this group has been ignored, castigated, vilified, and even mocked. Finally, the group has reached the boiling point and their anger is spilling over in the form of outburst like we’ve seen at debates and town halls around the nation.

Child psychologist will quickly tell parents that if you ignore your children and allow the lines of communication to deteriorate they will lash out to get your attention. Marital counselors will expound upon the importance of two way communication to ensure a healthy marriage and spend countless hours counseling spouses on how to “listen” to your partner. In all relationships, when communication is halted or becomes a one way street, conflict arises.  So, why members of our government are shocked or appalled by the disruptive and sometimes violent reactions they are now seeing is stupefying.

When a large voter block calls your office, emails your office and snail-mails your office with their desire to be heard, you had better listen and then respond respectfully. Instead far too many of our supposed representatives have not only ignored their constituents but have gone so far as to blame them for policy failures. It is no secret that the group I’m referring to is none other than the Tea party. Americans who have joined this group are simply fed up with the over reach of a government bureaucracy that seems more interested in growing the size of its departments than in growing the size of our economy. A government that has put more time and spent more money for hypothetical climate change dangers than it has spent reducing factual real world unemployment.

Dear Representatives, if you do not like the way your constituents are yelling and screaming at you during your debates, perhaps you should have taken their calls when they were still willing to simply discuss their concerns. Perhaps you Representatives should have been available to reply to letters and email rather than running around celebrating your Hope and Change, while your constituents were left hopeless and with only change in their pockets. Finally, if you do not want voters picketing outside your office or your home, then perhaps you should remember that you were elected to represent that majority trying to get your attention. You were not elected to show your moral or intellectual superiority over voters, quite the contrary. You were elected to humble yourself in the service of those who entrusted you with their voice, putting aside your own personal desires to do the will of the people. If you cannot or do not wish to fulfill this form of representation, then you should excuse yourself from public service and make your way back to the private sector, where you are free (at least at the moment) to expound upon your own greatness.