My Point of View by Robin Brown

 

On Friday, Aug. 16, residents of the 1st Congressional District were able to participate in a town hall meeting held by their U.S. congressperson. As an interested citizen, I attended hoping to hear the congressman clarify his views on important issues and speak about leadership roles he has taken to advocate for positive change for the 1st Congressional District and the nation at large. I believe that having these conversations in the intimate setting of a town hall should promote civil dialogue and give our elected officials the opportunity to be reminded of who they represent and the issues we find most important — regardless of the constituent’s political views.

With a conservative Army veteran father, I was taught to stand and place my hand on my heart whenever the colors were presented, the Pledge of Allegiance recited or the national anthem sung. And my father taught me to respect the office of all federal level elected officials by standing when they are announced at an event — regardless of their party affiliation.

As a constituent of the district, I expected to hear from a variety of residents on a multitude of issues. I knew we would not be speaking in one unified voice, but I believed decorum would be kept, questions and follow-ups would be answered, and we all — including the congressman — would leave the event knowing we had been heard. Notice I didn’t suggest we would all be singing “Kumbaya.”

Maybe it’s the nature of an open-topic town hall. Or maybe this is what happens when a congressperson comes to the district he/she represents so infrequently that the community feels this is the only chance their voice may be heard. That acknowledged, even with pre-composed questions, many constituents were unable to get the clearly stated, logical answers that they had come for. For example, while I stood politely with my hand in the air waiting to ask for clarification on a question, the congressman engaged in argument with the audience instead. He seemed uncertain of his own town hall rules and instead either responded to the loudest voice or simply shut down the conversation all together with “I believe what I believe.” Further, instead of offering respect when speaking about his colleagues, he referred to them by nickname.

Freeborn County residents were given priority to ask questions and the topics included, but were not limited to, EPA rules, prescription drug prices, military-style weapon regulation, ICE encampments, sanctuary cities, tariffs and the negative effects on farmers, election security and more. Any one of those topics are worthy of the discussion time allowed during a single town hall meeting. And after hearing the depth of the conversation needed to cover each subject, it was clear to me that the congressman would benefit from the give-and-take offered in single-topic town halls.

Topics strangely missing from the conversation were the enormous budget deficit and the lack of an infrastructure bill. I found this odd because, in every year in recent memory, the budget deficit has been a major topic of conversation in conservative circles (even during my state campaign, the national department was mentioned frequently). And, the president ran on the promise of improving our national infrastructure. Yet, the room was rather quiet on the issue.

Still, the evening was well spent, and I went home feeling reaffirmed in my deeply held beliefs as a Democrat. I believe in equal opportunity for all. I believe in shared human rights. I believe in the common good. I believe in science. I believe that a corporation is not an individual. I believe the Constitution is a living document and we should do our best to understand it — including all the amendments. I believe that government is neither good nor bad but is a vehicle to do the big work that benefits all of us, such as national security — both physical and cyber — transportation infrastructure, fair and secure elections, health care and protection of our shared natural resources.

In closing, I am filled with hope for the future. The attendance and active participation of students that evening was inspiring. In my opinion, one of the most articulate, informed and civil speakers of the night was a 16-year-old student from Albert Lea. She was passionate, yet kind, and forceful, yet controlled (I can’t wait until she runs for office). I believe there are other young people in our community as well — ready to change the world. I am anxiously waiting for them to step forward.

Robin Brown is a former District 27A representative.