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| The panel |
Terre Haute, Indiana -My mother likes to visit libraries, and, I found out
recently, library websites. On one of them, she discovered a notice that at one
particular library here in Indiana, there was going to be a “Cracker Barrel
Session” where you sit around and ask state congressmen questions. I was
expecting a quiet, almost sleepy little session which no one, including the
congressmen, were overly interested in. I was wrong.
When we arrived, underneath a tent outside, a Democratic
State Senator was screaming about how our Governor Mike Pence, a man who is
widely popular here, and about whom some are whispering for the presidency, was
shutting down public schools. (He’s not; he’s simply allowing people to go to
the school of their choice, or homeschool.) It seems the teachers association,
along with the labor unions, had gathered together to do their best to annoy
the four Republican congressmen who were there for the session, and cheer for
the two Democrats. The story made the news.
I got inside past the signs and screaming, and secured a
second row seat to the drama.
Recently, in a story that is even making national news,
Governor Pence decided that the only Democrat who was elected in the statewide
elections last year was making a mess of things in the department of education,
and a lot of people agree. A bill is passing through the state legislature in
Indianapolis to lessen her hold on power.
But the teacher’s didn’t like that…at all. And as for the
unions? Unions have done a great deal of good in the history of this country,
procuring the eight hour work day down form ten hours and in some places even
twelve. But these union members apparently wanted everyone in the state in the
unions, whether they wanted to be or not.
The moderator from the beginning was unable to keep peace. (She
was a woman probably in her seventies, and could not talk over the yelling.) As
one congressman came in, the crowd began jeering and booing. It got worse.
Screaming, catcalling, yelling, and asking State Congressman Morrison if he had
a guilty conscience; Morrison shot back that it was real brave for the man who
had said that to then walk away without waiting for a reply.
One teacher came up and began to complain that most teachers
in Indiana only make about 49,000 dollars a year. According to Census.gov, that
is the average median income in America for a family of 2, for any job.
It was an interesting glimpse for me into the distortion of
the facts by these activists. And their inability to be quiet when others were
talking. At one point the moderator threatened to have the police men who were
around to remove the loud mouths. She never did.
People who were given the microphone were told to hold their
comments, (it was supposed to be questions, they were mostly comments) to 3
minutes. But when told to stop, they would just keep going.
The screaming was constant, when the Representatives tried to
speak, they were forced to stop and wait for the room to reach some sort of
calm. Some “commenters” from the floor, when they had the microphone even tried
to tell them when they could speak and when they couldn’t.
At the end of the session, the panel of legislatures (the two
Democrats, every time they spoke, which was rarely, were wildly applauded,) was
allowed to give closing remarks. This ignited choruses of screams from the
audience, and a young man went to the microphone, trying to take over the
meeting, saying the people should have their say, not the legislatures, the
crowd yelped that they wanted to hear him speak, not the congressmen.
The moderator held fast for once, and told him no. He still
stood there. She told him no again, and he tried to start speaking. Finally she
told him no one more time-the congressmen could speak, not him. Curse words
flew from the audience, and suddenly well over a hundred teachers and union
members got up and walked out with the young man, (he was a member of neither
group) to hear what he had to say.
It turns out, (I collared him later to ask) what he had
wanted to talk about all along was that the teachers were saying they cared so
much about children, (and I believe almost of all of them do, and deeply) but
many of them also back abortion, which kills children. When he started his talk
outside, the small crowd that had gathered from the walkout ran for their cars.
But what was the outcome of all of this screaming? Nothing,
not a single blessed thing. Most of the people in that room were Democrats, but
in Indiana the Republicans control a supermajority of the legislature, and the
governorship. The state for the most part supports school choice; they even
support ousting the Democrat in the Department of Education.
The state is Red, and looks destined to remain that way. Most
people here in Indiana would have supported the legislatures in that room, and
have been appalled at the disrespect shown. But unfortunately almost none of
those people were there.
The reason? They have families, and jobs, and farms, and
normal lives. Most of them do not have time to hold up a sign and scream that
they support something. And so their voices are not heard. And the organized
minority of yellers sometimes gets their way. Not all the time. I am sure Pence
will be able to pass his bill and oust the Democrat, but over time, pressure
builds, as it has in this country in recent years.
And when all the legislatures see is screaming, yelling
groups of people supporting left wing principles, somehow they begin to think
they had better support this, or get voted out of office, and the farmer in his
pickup truck soon realizes his taxes are rising to pay for someone else’s
social program, programs which many times do not even work.
And so the liberals are there, and they are organized. They
get out and march, they get out and vote. Let’s make sure that in our
communities, when we have an opportunity, we should do the same. Always
remembering of course to walk softly, and carry a big stick-and that stick
should be the facts.
Andrew C. Abbott
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