Thoughts from today’s experience

Today, I attended the outdoor portion of President Obama’s town hall on healthcare. In other words, I didn’t have a ticket. Officially, I suppose I was an activist. This became abundantly clear when a police officer asked me three different times to get behind the yellow tape. After the third time, he asked for my ID and wrote my name and birth date on his little pad of paper. I made the list. Nothing like a little civil disobedience to start the day.

I wanted to add my presence to this event in a unique way…without getting arrested. Having read about all of the protesting and disruption at other events, I wondered how I could show up to affect this situation. Can one person change a crowd? I figured I should find out. I remembered the workshop/training from this weekend and decided Gary Simmons might have some advice. He did. I took it straight from the master’s mouth. Gary says, “Nothing and no one is against you.” I knew that was my motto for the day and went to work.

I created a sign that read, “NOTHING AND NO ONE IS AGAINST US.” Why this message? Simply stated, I believe there is one power (maybe One Power) in the universe. I also believe that power is good and we live in a friendly universe. There is no opposing force. There is only the good. And, I believe we’re all connected (maybe interconnected). The not-so-good stuff people can experience is brought about when people think/believe they are separate from each other. If I think you’re different from me, I am likely treat you with less regard. If I think/believe we are connected, I am likely to treat you with more regard. Buy it or not, that’s the theory. Stick with me.

The event was held at Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, NH…just a few minutes from where I live. As I was parking my car, I noticed a long line of activists walking to the high school. While I was impressed, they were only the tip of the iceberg today. When I reached the high school grounds, I soon realized people were physically staked out on one side or the other of the debate. On the south side of the road to the high school were the “anti-reform” people. On the north side of the road were the “pro-overhaul” people. This is the point in the story where my stomach started to churn.

By the time I had arrived, it was already ugly. People were yelling at each other. Bullhorns were being used to spout propaganda and pick verbal fights across the road. Signs were waving above heads. Young children were holding signs they couldn’t understand and flipping the middle finger to people across the road. People were at their worst. A scene from “Jaws” floated through my mind. Roy Schieder is the first one to see the gigantic great white shark up close. He’s utterly shocked and mutters to the ship’s captain, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” I saw the gigantic shark. I needed a bigger sign.

Regardless, I held my sign aloft. No more than six people asked me what the sign meant. That’s fine. I was keeping things low key. Glory was not my intention. I was there to “bring peace into the room” at this event and take some photos. I knew this would be great fodder for The 365 Project. One more thing about the sign. It did get me interviewed by a Boston Globe correspondent. This interview resulted in my being quoted in an article on boston.com. I think it was a pretty decent quote. It certainly embodied what I was attempting to bring to the event today.

It was amazing to observe both sides of the road. On the “anti-reform” side, I observed:

+ No less than six bullhorns (Why did these people feel the need to be so loud? I have a theory. They were very interested in being right and not so interested in a dialogue. I suppose that could be a definition for “activist.” Besides, no one said it was going to be a dialogue. That’s my stuff.)

+ A number of US flags (No real argument here, but I got the feeling these people felt they were more “American” than people on the other side of the road. I wonder why. That kind of debate could go on forever. Not interested.)

+ More than a handful of New Hampshire “Live Free or Die” flags (Again, no real argument here. However, people near these flags were saying things like, “If you’re not from NH, go home.” Hello!?! He’s the President of the United States. That includes all 50 of them. It’s a national issue. Everyone has home field advantage, jackass.)

+ Lots of yelling (If it was just propaganda yelling, I suppose that would be fine. Propaganda must be spewed at events like this. However, these people were angry and fearful. It seemed that people on this side were picking fights with those on the other side. People on this side, especially those with bullhorns, attacked others. Not cool.)

On the “pro-overhaul” side of the road, I observed:

+ Music and dancing (First, there were drummers. I’m guessing they were African drummers, but probably not Kenyan. Who knows? Maybe they were. Whatever. They were drumming and people were dancing. People were happy. Hopeful. Next, there was The Leftist Marching Band. They played some tunes and people, again, danced. More happy.)

+ Boxed lunches (Okay. I can’t say that I went to the other side in search of food, but I had it thrust upon me on the “pro-overhaul” side. People offered me water to quench my thirst. What’s the old saying? “A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Check and mate.)

+ Socialists (I’m kidding. Didn’t see one of those people all day long.)

+ Wise-asses (There was a guy with a sign that read “Obama Bring Back Arrested Development.” There was also a guy with a sign about “Teabagging” — which is both vulgar humor and something having to do with the Tea Party protests of late. Finally, there was a guy dressed as Darth Vader holding a sign that read “Even the Empire had Universal Healthcare. Shouldn’t we?”)

+ Fandom (I’m going to say this comparison has been very biased. Now is where I give a crumb to those people from the other side who already noticed this. More than once I heard, “I’m here because I love Barack Obama.” I tend to think there are some people who are in love with BO and that’s their only take. Maybe fans more than political supporters. I spotted/heard maybe a handful of people today who I would lump in that category. However, there were many, many people on this side who had strong opinions on the issues.)

In no way is this a comprehensive (or fair) list of what existed on either side of the road. These are simply things I noticed. If it hasn’t become obvious yet, I was standing on the “pro-overhaul” side of the road. I chose this side because I tend to lean this way (liberal), politically. Additionally, I do believe in the man (Obama) as a much-needed agent of change. However, if there was a place to stand for “those-who-believe-parts-of-the-health-care-system-do-not-work-and-are-interested-in-a-solution-that-does not-yet-exist,” I would have been right there. Maybe I was.

When the time approached 1pm, I knew “Elvis was in the building” and I made my exit. I left feeling glad, sad and amazed. I’m glad I went. I would rather be in the thick of things than read about it somewhere. I’m sad such a huge belief chasm exists in this country. This event was both a small-scale example and a large-scale metaphor to how this country is feeling. This is what we have. How are we going to be with what we have? I’m amazed at the passion on both sides. I judge some of it, yet sit in amazement at how people show their support for what they believe.

I’m hopeful for this country of ours. It’s definitely a time of change, and change ain’t easy. Over the weekend, someone pointed out that most examples of change/transformation include a period of darkness (i.e., the catepillar dissolves into goo within the chrysalis before becoming the butterfly).  This may be our time of dissolving into goo before coming out the other side to spread our wings.  It sure was gooey today. What is needed most now are people who can help us all navigate through the gooey times. It’s my contention that those are people who also believe “Nothing and no one is against us.”

Meyer out.