Town Hall Meeting

Can’t please everyone. That’s one thing I learned at the town hall meeting with Congressman Mike Thompson on Sept. 2 at the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds in Eureka California. The contentious topic of health care reform drew approximately 300 people whose tempers ran high. As I walked into the event, several people stood outside with picket signs chanting that health care should be available for everyone. The building was spilling over with concerned citizens from both sides of the spectrum and a news crew was present to record these individual’s concerns. I observed that the majority of the people in attendance were white, somewhat older, and very opinionated.
When the congressman came out to face the rambunctious crowd, he attempted to set the tone by stating his interest in speaking with the people of Eureka is to gain ideas on how to reform health care. However, once the topic was opened for discussion, people proceeded to argue the problems with health care and offered few solutions. When an individual did offer a situation, the crowd reacted passionately with boos and cheers. The congressman frequently shushed the crowd and pointed out that everyone deserves respect and a chance to speak their opinion. One man needed to be escorted out of the building by security, and for a moment I thought things were going to get out of control.
In order to maintain control of the room the congressman did not allow picket signs in the building and prohibited the speakers from holding the microphone, which I believe was a strategy to keep some of the power in the event-organizers’ hands rather than the in the hands of the public who clearly had their own agenda. There were some pretty heart breaking stories told, whether it was from a widowed woman who couldn’t afford higher taxes or hard-working individual who lost their job due to health concerns and now has no way to pay their health bills. This meeting offered insight on both sides of the issue, and when making big decisions such health care reform, these insights are important to hear. I appreciated one man’s comment, which acknowledged that fact that until this day he hadn’t felt close to Washington or his political leaders. I too, shared this sentiment as it was my first town hall meeting. I thought it was pretty cool that Mike Thompson would come to Eureka to hear what we had to say.
The congressman did not speak very long about his own positions. However, I noticed the topics he did discuss were relatively uncontroversial and appealed to nearly everyone there. For instance, Mr. Thompson expressed his support for teleconferencing with specialists from other areas. This is undoubtedly something that rural community members would be in support of, for the reason that it provides greater opportunity to gain quality health care in areas that are isolated or distant from major medical centers. The congressman also mentioned preventative medicine, which is hard to argue with because it saves people and money in the long run.
I believe that everyone who spoke at this meeting felt passionately that their idea about what should be done with health care was the best answer to our country’s problems. However, these answers varied and there was no magical solution that would make everyone happy. Therefore, when doing community work, it is important to remember that you can’t please everyone.