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...

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…