Ancient Athens is credited with establishing the first true democracy. We’re talking some 2500 years ago, and that democracy, such as it was, was limited in size (far from all of the city’s residents had voting rights) and somewhat uncertain as to effect (some measures were clearly decided by popular vote; others may have been ceded to or usurped by military authority).
But Athenian democracy still stands as a textbook model of how people can govern themselves. And it certainly was a model the early European settlers embodied in their town hall meetings during the days of pioneer and communal living that marked much of the early development of colonial America.
Those town hall meetings were marked by civility and open discourse. Everyone who wanted to influence the decision at hand was permitted to express his or her view, and then, often by voice vote, the will of the majority was effectuated.
Fast forward a few centuries, and the town hall meetings are in revival. The subject is health care, and the meetings are being held by elected policy makers (everyone from the local member of Congress to the President himself) to engage differing opinions on various aspects of the pending Congressional proposals in meaningful dialogue.
At least that was the plan. But instead of civil discourse and legitimate debate, many of these meetings have featured angry groups of attendees, many shouting disapproval at just about every mention of anything even remotely suggesting a governmental aspect to the reform proposals.
At first, when these outbursts were shown on television news broadcasts (they have since become a staple of the cable news networks), the thought was that most of the agitation was being orchestrated by special interest groups (primarily those representing the insurance industry, which has the most to lose in any reform measure). And, in fact, evidence clearly established the role of lobbyists for the industry in secret “instructions” that were disseminated to the protesters.
But as the month has worn on, the incivility has developed a life-blood of its own, fueled by a hostility that needs little prodding to unleash itself.
Far from the citizens’ debates in ancient Athens, the new town halls have featured protesters shouting at elected representatives, crowds applauding anti-government rhetoric and even self-described “proud NRA members” toting visible handguns in holsters at their hips, as if to suggest they are deadly serious about the rights they think they are asserting.
Guns at a public debate? What’s going on here?
There is, in these protests, something vaguely familiar albeit less easily identified. It first surfaced in the ill-fated third party campaign of Ross Perot in 1992. Many who flocked to Perot that year were also angry, although their anger then was more contained, partly because Perot’s candidacy gave them vent for it.
But the anger was there, perhaps not quite visible, just beneath the surface, in the rallies for Perot and his simplistic solutions that denigrated government and suggested a better, albeit an undefined, way to solve the country’s problems. Perot was not a public servant; he wasn’t offering realistic solutions or even better processes. He was, in essence, just a demagogue, playing to the discontent of the masses.
But with two wars and a nasty recession suggesting government hasn’t gotten any better at solving problems, those masses don’t need a mouthpiece anymore. They just need a reason and a forum.
The health care reform initiative is enough of a reason, and the town hall meetings are more than enough of a forum.
Consider the actual rhetoric the protesters are using. They call any aspect of the various pending bills that have a government role “socialistic,” when, in fact, no aspect of the alternatives currently being considered are in any way socialistic. No proposal seeks to nationalize ownership of hospitals or to put health care professionals on government payrolls.
What is being proposed is a way to control costs (through greater efficiency and increased competition, both of which are hallmarks of a strong capitalist system) and a way to cover more individuals (again with easier access to health insurance, most of which would be provided by private companies, with some kind of government option only available as a last resort).
But the protests are expressing anger, anger that has probably been pent up for years, if not generations. And my sense is that this anger (dare we even call it rage?) is caused by something most observers have failed to recognize – the loss of individual autonomy.
This loss has probably been creeping into our existence since the end of World War II, if not before, but it has become especially palpable more recently. It has expressed itself in many ways, in many different settings. Here are a few examples to ponder.
The credit card explosion has stolen our sense of financial autonomy. (How many Americans even think of living without debt anymore?)
The “war on terrorism” has destroyed our ease of mobility. (Air travel is at best a necessary evil.)
Small business ownership is disappearing as an American institution. (Either mega-corporations are gobbling them up or restrictive regulations like those promulgated by the ADA and the EPA are destroying their profitability.)
Manufacturing jobs are disappearing at a rapid rate, leaving a potential work force with little to do and the fear of poverty always lurking for millions of Americans. (As good jobs become ever scarcer, more of the active work force must “lower” itself to menial work that offers few chances for improvement and minimal benefits.)
These and many other de-humanizing changes in our society have had the effect of denying many Americans their sense of personal autonomy, of the ability to be masters, if you will, of their own destiny.
Instead, many Americans now feel trapped – trapped in lives that aren’t providing happiness, security, or even a sense of individual identity.
The result is a permanent angry class of Americans that is growing in number and in rage. And if I’m right, these protests at town hall meetings may be the start of something much scarier than anything we are witnessing now.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the “loss of individual autonomy.” I’m signed on as a 9-12’er and intend to be present at my Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s town hall on the 26th. He started out reserving an 120 seat venue, then 270, then 500 and now at the Icardo Center – basketball arena at CSUB (4,800). Since McCarthy, Bill Thomas’ successor is one of the GOP’s young lions, it will be an interesting event given a core of screwballs at CSUB who protested Bush’s war every weekend, but are silent about Obama’s war and who spent months tearing down “Yes on Prop 8” signs. I’m glad the college campus is one place where freedom of speech prevails – not!
I have to laugh at the radical’s claiming the GOP or big insurance or any large organization had anything to do with the Tea Parties. We haven’t been able to get the GOP off it’s ass for years, save to do the same dumb stuff the Dems are masters at – destroying the country in the name of “rights” and “social justice” – which has taken the Catholic Church down the toilet with it. (You know I’m one of 4 co-founders of the local Golden Empire Gleaners (like Sacramento’s), which has provided food and work for the poor for over 20 years, and my wife and I ran a maternity home for two years – I’m also a cancer survivor thanks to a pretty good Medicare/supplement and fast access to top notch medical care. I’m not insensitive! We could have a great health care system if it considered the principle of subsidiarity and the corporal works of mercy).
The raucousness of Tea Partier’s, unlike radicals with administration acquiescence, driving conservative speakers off college podia, pie throwing and all, at these bastions of free speech, the Tea Party attendee’s holler at bald faced lies or legislator’s ignorance of the convoluted plan. They cover a wide swath of totally inexperienced participants. I remember the “spontaneous” noisy SEIU picketing at the homes of AIG execs a few months ago. Those darned Tea partiers!
Every network has a hierarchy, but 9-12 is pretty loose, except for information exchange on the Internet, including actually reading and digesting the bills. What drives them is seeing the loss of individual liberty to the spirit of Antichrist called political correctness, even though I may be the only one who actually defines PC that way. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a Bible scholar to figure that one out! I just had the “individual autonomy” to do my own research.
China, Russia and Germany were taken over by less than 8% of the population – the rest work for a living and try to make the best of every day, raising their children and having a few laughs. The radical, Nazi, communist, Islamo-fascist, Fascist or whatever stripe seem driven by powerful and evil spiritual forces. Nothing new under the sun! No new sins, just new spins!
Alinsky says “Keep the pressure on…” With 44 or so czar’s, BHO has succeeded in “overwhelming the system.” The folks finally wised up, but the poison pills of $2 tril secret payment to somebody and bank and industry takeovers have already been swallowed.
The elected radicals who vote for this draconian health care bill seem to be unafraid of losing re-election, because it seems the SEIU, et al, goon squads will be in place by the Census and the next election. I hope I’m being paranoid, but BHO clearly defined his plans for “AmeriCorps” during the campaign and nothing that has happened since has reversed this thinking. A Texas chairity was complaining recently of losing $75,000 to the “Cash for Clunkers” program. The bureaucrats’ response – “Don’t worry, we won’t need charities anymore once AmeriCorps is in full operation!”
Back to “loss of individual autonomy.” I see BHO has now appointed a diversity czar. The American dream was based on diversity – of talents, gifts and ambition, with the opportunity to rise above one’s station and give his/hers children a better life than he/she had. This is true diversity.
Individual autonomy is lost in phony diversity – racial and ethnic – while true, we are diverse, but we are also “e pluribus unum.” We’re all in it together – we’ll never be perfect – there’s elite snobbery and peasant snobbery and academic snobbery – human attempts to feel important for no good reason. If we keep going down this phony road, any element of human dignity will be lost to the radicals’ precious “collective.”
Do what they will, we are still endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of property and happiness.
Can you imagine what would happen if someone carrying a sign that read something like “watering the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants” while wearing a sidearm or toting an automatic weapon showed up at an event where President George W. Bush was speaking back in 2003 or 2005? They probably couldn’t get within 5 miles even if all they had was the sign!
Geez, Bush only took us into Iraq on false pretenses but at least he didn’t try improve our healthcare system!
Townhalls in the US were/are not monolithic – they differ based on region and era. Boston’s revolutionary era townhalls were probably much different than early 19th century rural middle Western (i.e. Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky) townhalls. Funny enough, they also correspond to approaches to learning and ways of practicing religion. In New England, religion had more to do with intellectual cultivation, hence the many religious educational institutions where individuals learned to communicate with god and the world. In the middle West, evangelicals saw the relationship to god as more instinctual, relying more on intuition and socially-derived belief rather than one purely based on self-rationalization and reflection. (See Richard Hofstadter’s “Anti-intellectualism in American Life.”)
News sources are trying to promote townhalls that are treated more as evangelical-influenced forums for self expression and not for rational discussion and consensus. They are portrayed more as places where people meet to express their ideas rather than places where position are clarified. (These are, after all, events directed by politicians and not leaderless meetings without centralized agendas.) Basically, they are treated as a place where the average joe can act like Bill O’Rielly (sp?) for a night. (And if you do a great job at being a sensation, even you can be on the 11 o’clock news!) Rather than facilitate participant’s ability to think about different perspectives, they are meant to foster outward expression as a means of solidifying one’s preexisting belief.
For example, as seen on The Daily Show, a woman passionately told off a politician and did such a good job that she was asked to speak on a cable news channel. When asked what she thought of the politician’s response, she admitted that she was so worked up that she only heard half of the politician’s response. Implicit in this answer is that her outward (and emotional) statement-as-question was more valuable than the elected-official’s response to that “question.” In other words, the townhall is less of a political forum and more a public space to express one’s emotional (spiritual) beliefs. Modern political townhalls are treated by the (cable-television) newsmedia as revivals.
Certainly, just as there were fears and anxieties of living in the wilderness, there are reasons to express unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the current system. The only problem is that “government” is a tangible thing that functionally operates (and is supposed to do that). At the evangelical revivals, people were communicating with a vague and spiritual creator, an entity, as I would posit, has less accountability to respond with sound policy that makes life better. Otherwise, should we change the old saying to “the government never promised you a rose garden.” (or “health care.”)