An Exercise in Self-Control

Q: What do you call a Democrat in a small town or rural congregation?

A: The pastor.


That joke is actually a gross generalization that has not proven itself to be remotely true in my current context. But wow, it sure felt true today. . .

Sen. Specter came to Bucknell for a town hall meeting today. I waited in line, outside, in the heat and humidity (one of the grossest days we've had this summer) for a chance to get in. I was actually the last one to get a seat - almost didn't get in at all thanks to the two upright patriots behind me who cut the line once we got in the door of the host building. The people in charge weren't going to let me in to the auditorium, but I was persistent in trying to talk them into letting me stand along the wall in the back, when suddenly there was one seat still available.

Part of me wonders if I should have been so persistent, because right now I am truly embarrassed and disgusted by the behavior of my fellow Americans. I understand that we are not going to see eye-to-eye on every issue, but there is no need to be disrespectful in the midst of disagreement. There was much more ignorance and arrogance on display this afternoon than there was reasoned, civil discourse. About 2/3 of the people in the auditorium exhibited tremendous disrespect both to the Senator and to the few people (maybe 5 out of 30) who asked questions or spoke in favor of any political theory shared with the President.

They literally booed, hissed, called names, yelled interruptions, and purposely created cacophanous noise so that you couldn't hear what the Senator or the person had to say. And then they cheered for the preservation of our freedoms (conveniently forgetting that freedom of speech extends to everyone, including those with whom you disgree - to his credit, Sen. Specter called them on that at one point).

One of the later speakers, who works for Geisinger Health Center (local hospital, nationally renowned for its care), shared a story of a recent patient, a Valley resident, who had a heart attack right after losing their health insurance, and spent their entire stay at the hospital - a time meant for rest and recovery - worried sick they were going to lose their house and their small business in order to cover the bills from this 3 day stay. This health care employee ended the story with a plea for universal coverage - not single payer national system, necessarily, but universal coverage for all Americans, and the jerks in the crowd actually booed that. Booed the idea that every American should be able to get medical attention without bankrupting their family.

It was all I could do to stop myself from running up front and hijacking a microphone and first, shaming them for their disrespect, and second, asking them: What if that heart attack patient was your neighbor? Not even in the universal Good Samaritan/Christian everybody's my neighbor kind of sense - what if they were literally your neighbor?

What if they were your grandfather?

What about when it's YOU?