100 Days In - Where We Stand - Position Statements, Editorials, and White Papers

Position Statements & Editorials

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The Forgotten Priority
Read the entire op-ed in The Washington Afro:
www.afro.com/tabId/551/itemId/5145/The-Forgotten-Priority-What-About-Our-Youth.aspx

Founder of Initiative to Connect Citizens to the Government Decries
Violence, Outbursts During Health Care Town Hall Meetings

Kesi Stribling, CEO of KSG Strategic Consulting and Founder of 100 Days In: Connecting
Stakeholders to the Change We Need, strongly denounces the eruption of violence during Town
Hall meetings focused on health across the country.

August 12, 2009

Now, more than ever, Americans face difficult choices as we deal with the effects of the
economy. We are losing jobs, our homes, and our savings. Our health, understandably, is
suffering the weight of the stress that comes along with an ongoing, lengthy recession.

We applaud President Obama’s administration and our elected lawmakers for trying to come up
with a plan to address important health care issues, such as health insurance coverage and
affordable health care for Americans. Our country has some of the highest rates in heart disease,
obesity, HIV/AIDS, stroke, and cancer. More than 12,000,000 million of us are not insured.
Inactivity on such a vital issue as health care could be a life or death issue for many of us.

As citizens of the United States, we have a right and obligation to ensure that we are kept
informed of the legislation process, and have a voice as proposed laws take form. One of the
most significant benefits of living in a democratic nation is the ability to voice our concerns,
propose alternatives, and even voice our opposition and dissent on issues.

However, we should not resort to violence and disrespectful behavior toward our elected
officials. It is counterproductive and disheartening to know that some attendees in Town Hall
meetings across the country feel that spray-painting swastikas, ripping down a civil rights poster
in a federal facility, and instigating actual fist fights will level the playing field. In fact, that motley
behavior detracts us all from the issue, causing raw emotion to take over when we need to
calmly, rationally hear the details about the proposed bill.

We have a responsibility to question proposed laws and amendments, on any issue, as they will
undoubtedly affect us. We also have the right to dissent if we do not agree. That, after all, is
what makes us so uniquely American. Descending into brute and unchecked behavior is not only
irrational, it is downright embarrassing.

Kesi Stribling
Founder
100 Days In: Connecting Stakeholders to the Change We Need
www.100DaysIn.com

You are invited to come out to our Town Hall on Health, featuring DC health leaders and experts:
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2009, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m, at the Shepherd Park Library in
Washington, DC. Visit www.100DaysIn.com/events for more information.

Our hearts go out to the victims and
families of the earthquake in Haiti. We
urge our partners, friends, and
supporters to consider donating to the
following organizations, who use 100%
of donations for relief efforts:
UNICEF
www.unicef.org
The American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
www.aspca.org

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