Fools on Parade ...

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

Regardless of who you prefer to attribute this oft repeated saying, we are witnessing fools on a grand scale shouting out, disrupting and in general destroying the purpose of what should have been a forum for civil discourse.

Senators and Representatives home for "summer break" trying to conduct open meetings with their constituents, are experiencing an unheard of outbreak of what can only be described as undisciplined rudeness, plain and simple.

Public meetings with our elected representatives are to allow face-to-face airing of views and information, far more effective than phone calls, letters, or email. In fact, unlike during the past administration, Republicans and Democrats can share the same venues, regardless of party affiliation.

But the unruly mob scenes played out the past few days have given any number of representatives pause for concern – even posing public safety concerns. This may result in an even more serious peril; loosing our freedom to interact with our elected officials, threatened by largely ignorant, ill mannered, and foolish loud mouths.