June 28, 2017

Today I called the Congressional Budget Office (202-224-4515); Senator Elizabeth Warren (202-224-4543); Senator Ed Markey (202-224-2742); Congressman Seth Moulton (978) 531-1669); and Senator Susan Collins (202-224-2523) to register my opinion that we must have hearings on the Senate Health Care bill.

To the Massachusetts Delegation, I said that I know I’m preaching to the choir, but that I also know they track calls, and I want my voice to be heard. To Senator Collins, who does not represent me directly, I said that I have always appreciated her rational approach and that we need hearings.

We are, of course, right to focus on the larger threats to our democracy, like Russian interference. However, we cannot ignore what are easy to see as mundane administration issues, like whether or not there are hearings, or whether the White House press briefings are on camera. Process matters. We ignore it at our peril. Bypassing the people by shutting out our voices or limiting our access is a major step in the deterioration of process that will, ultimately, destroy our democracy.

I used to think that, because I’m a Democrat living in Massachusetts, I didn’t have to contact my representatives, who are all Democrats. But that’s just not true anymore. Every day I see what perhaps seem like small steps leading toward the weakening of our democracy, whether it’s the rushing through of legislation that dramatically affects people’s lives without hearings, a tweet from the president that attempts to delegitimize the media, a lecture from the White House assistant press secretary to the press corps dismissing their work as fake or the promotion of alternative facts as reality. It is a drip, drip, drip towards a future that is less government by the people and more government by those who have enough power to dismiss the people.

We are the “We” in “We the People.” Let’s make our voices heard.

(c) 2017 Elaine L. Ricci

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