A Little Civility Is Good for Our Health

I’m weary of seeing footage of angry people at town halls yelling constantly at members of Congress. However, I am not naïve enough to think that this is occurring at every town hall meeting or even a majority of town hall meetings. I imagine that most town halls have civil discussions on the issue that border on boredom. But certainly, there seems to be a frenzy at a few of these meetings that grabs all the headlines. The problem? It takes the discussion off of health care and onto the protesters. It gives members of Congress the ability to simply dismiss the dissent as irrational, thus weakening the dissenting viewpoint for those discussing it rationally. For those who are overly vocal: Your point has been made. People are upset and scared about health care reform. Everybody gets that. Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention. Now, though, ask your questions rationally. Allow the members of Congress to respond. Let’s have this debate on the merits of the bill and not on pure emotion. Win the argument with real discussion, not shouting. Because what will eventually happen, if this remains emotionally charged, is that more and more people will support the health care plan out of frustration with the protesters. It’s why Bill Clinton’s approval rating was highest during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. People had enough of the heated rhetoric and attacks and circled the wagons. It’s human nature. If the protesters aren’t cautious, they are going to cause a circling of the wagons around this health care reform as well and end up contributing to its passing rather than defeat. So chill out a little. Keep writing and calling your Representatives and Senators if you want. Keep talking to your friends. Keep attending town halls and asking questions. The argument against this particular bill appears to be winning. However, at this point, outrageous protesting at town halls only hurts the argument.