A town meeting extension

Town Meeting Experience

I never attended a town meeting before. But after this interesting experience, I realized what a town meeting is really about -- local self-government. As Alexis de Tocqueville tells us in his famous book, Democracy in America, it is in local government where American citizens can really affect the laws and policies that govern their daily lives. Though events like the conflict in Afghanistan and the slow global economic recovery affect and must concern us all, at the end of the day, it is local services -- or lack thereof -- that touch us most. For example, if a pothole suddenly appears in front of my driveway, is it realistic to call Washington DC (which may as well be half-a-world-away) and attempt to have a nameless bureaucrat try to fix my problem? Or is it better to go to the local town council or government and talk to someone who knows my neighborhood and shares my local concerns? It is this reality that truly struck me when I attended the Pennington town meeting.

The Pennington local town meeting drew a surprising number of participants all who seemed to have their own opinions and views, and most who were not at all reluctant to share their opinions with the audience or amongst themselves. The meeting was held at the local community center, in a large conference area with a small stage at the front. There was a "church" like table facing the crowd and approximately 15 rows of chairs facing the stage. The rows were separated by a center aisle and an aisle on each side for easy access. The lighting was bright, and the town-meeting set-up thus provided a very secure and comfortable environment for a town meeting. Most of the audience was dressed rather casually, but nevertheless, there was a smattering of individuals in suits and upscale dresses as well. The demographics were about evenly split between men and women, and though there were some youthful participants, most of the audience seemed to be between the ages of 40 -- 60. The age demographic skewed toward the middle and upper middle aged, and it followed that much of the agenda discussion centered around their particular interests and concerns.. My impression from the discussion and debate gave me the impression that many of the individuals who attended the meeting appeared to be somewhat religious and conservative.