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In the Name of Democracy

I took my entire family to a town hall meeting at Prince Georges Community College tonight. It was on health care, a major agenda being pursued by President Obama. Senator Cardin of MD was the main speaker. Of coarse, my boys, who are 10 and 5, could really have cared less about the cost of health care. Yet, they were rather respectful of the meeting. There were hundreds of people there, all waiting patiently to voice their concerns to the senator. He had done these before, but not my young boys. It was their first time. As a matter of fact, it was mine as well. I was so proud of them.

I thought it to be very important for them to be able to experience this. Does this make them grow faster, or mature them more? I am not sure. But I do know that having an experience of any kind can always bring new perspectives.

We left a little after the open questioning began; my youngest was beginning to get antsy. Yet as we were walking out, I explained to them that they saw a part of democracy in action, a morsel of how laws and changes are made in our government. I told that them that voicing their opinions at these types of events helps our leaders know what the people want and need. My son's simple response to let me know that he understood all of this was, "Cool!"

Comments

  1. Kay EmTuesday, July 21, 2009

    Very cool taking your kids to a public meeting. You never know what they will remember from the experience. Perhaps they'll want to run for office one day or at the very least they'll understand that democracy doesn't just happen by itself. It happens because people like you -- and them -- care enough to get involved. Blessings, Your fellow Bison

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