Town hall meeting, April 20
Remember when you were a kid out having fun, and then your parents called you in for a talk. They wondered what you had been up to. They wanted to hear it from you.
Our relationship with our elected officials is like that too. We expect them to take care of us. We want them to know what we need. Face-to-face interaction is important for human beings. It is also important to keep democracy alive and well.
We need to interact with our senators and third-district congressman. We want to share our concerns and talk things over to make life better.
Since we haven’t seen Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, and Congressman Greg Harper, we are holding a constituents’ town hall Thursday, April 20, and we have invited them to join us.
The town hall will be in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse and will start at 7 p.m. It is nonpartisan and open to the public in the Golden Triangle.
Many of us are worried about our healthcare and our schools and our taxes. Many of us don’t understand what is happening in Washington, D.C. We need our representatives to enlighten and explain, and perhaps assure us too.
Our elected officials have three groups to represent: people who voted for them, people who voted for someone else and those who did not vote. This is how a representative democracy works, according to what we learned about American government in school.
We hope that Rep. Harper, Sen. Cochran and Sen. Wicker attend. If they do not, we will still hold the town hall. We want people to bring letters, ask questions, give comment and tell their personal stories. We plan to talk about healthcare, international relations, the budget and anything else people have on their mind.
Gentlemen, it’s time for the talk.
Patti Drapala
Starkville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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