Archive: Opinions

You don't often get to see a slice of America on the grass roots level all in one place.  The nation is divided, but we tend to see the deepest manifestation of that division in Washington, which makes it easy to point fingers and blame Congress (last year's Congress deserves a lot of blame).  Now that generally liberal Tompkins County has been joined with generally conservative other counties in the newly formed 23rd congressional district, political differences were abundantly obvious at the town hall meeting our congressman held in the Village of Dryden Hall last weekend.

It wasn't just that Congressman Reed had opposing views to those of local residents.  In fact, I think he surprised a lot of people when it turned out he agreed with them, although not always for the reasons they expected.  Most of the meetings like this I have covered in Tompkins County have been pretty much like minded people preaching to the choir.  So what excited me about this meeting was that people in the audience represented widely differing views, and I couldn't help thinking that if the boy scouts in the front row were paying attention they were probably learning a lot about how their country works.

At times Reed could have backed out of the discussion altogether as opposing views were aired (sometimes yelled).  But love him or hate him I think everyone in the room can agree he has a thick skin, and he wasn't afraid to weigh in even if what he had to say wasn't going to be in this particular room.  At the same time he said that while his positions are his own, he holds these town halls to listen.  At one point he said he is open to being convinced.

At one point Reed was challenged on the notion that he must represent his new constituents now, not just those who agree with him.  His reply struck a chord with me, because it is the heart of our kind of government and the impossibility of representing two people whose views are diametrically opposed.  He said that he was honest about his views in the election, and the majority in the district elected him.  He said, "On the things we agree on, I'm all in."

There were some twists that illustrated that.  Reed said he supports Dryden's ban on hydrofracking, not because he is against hydrofracking, but because he is for home rule.  So there is some disagreement there, but a convergence of purpose even where his views don't entirely line up with those of some constituents.  Bottom line he supports Dryden's right to govern within its borders.  It may not be agreement, but from a practical standpoint he is an ally to the anti-fracking Town of Dryden.

That's how our system is supposed to work.  We can't all sit in congress or run our country faces by holding a general election on every item.  And we can't split the country into smaller countries in which everyone agrees on everything.  So we are stuck with an imperfect system.  We have the right to try to convince our representatives to represent our point of view, but that is not always possible.  If it were possible for me it wouldn't be possible for you.  It's a practical matter.

Winston Churchill famously said, "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

What makes it better than the others is that every few years we get to vote for someone who largely agrees with us, and who we think will improve our lives and our country.  In the meantime those who disagree with Reed should take some comfort in two things: first, he came to Tompkins County to hear what people here had to say, and second he pledged to open an office in Ithaca.  To me that says he is willing to listen.  How that plays out into policy we'll just have to see.  If we like it he will likely get a third term in a few years, and if not we'll get to disagree with a new guy.

I also loved that the room so so full that they ran out of chairs.  Most of the other meetings I have attended, held by Lansing's past congressmen, only brought a handful of people to the room.  This time people saw the opportunity to participate and they grabbed it with both hands.

So on a purely ivory tower civics class level I loved the Dryden meeting.  I loved the anti-fracking people in costumes holding signs, and the pro-gun folks in flannel and prominent Tompkins County Democrats getting a chance to debate with a Republican congressman in a public forum, and the passion in the room.

I noticed that nobody who spoke out was taken out by secret police, that fist fights did not break out, that there were no state monitors taking notes on what people said.  Everyone got to have their say, and now Congressman Reed has to sort it out and see whether it impacts his votes in Washington.  If we don't like what he does with what he got Saturday, another election is coming in 2014.

It's certainly the worst form of government.  Except for all the others.

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