Neighborhood Networks' Town Hall Meeting: "We Are the Change We Need" is Monday

Come to the Town Hall on Monday.

Nov. 17 ... 7-9 PM ... at ... the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St.

After the recent elections it is obvious that Change of some sort is coming to the political sphere. It looks to be a fairly tumultuous time ...and not just because of the economic situation.

There are many questions that the City of Philadelphia needs to be addressing in the coming weeks, months, and years. As citizens of Philadelphia we need to do everything we can to make sure that our representatives hear our voices and listen to us before making rash decisions based on money and power.

I personally do not know the first thing about how to get the ear of my city councilperson ...since they haven't replied to emails or phone calls in the past. Like many living in Philadelphia, I feel that my representatives within the City body simply do not care about me unless I am a member of one of their "groups" of supporters.

We all need to help each other to reach out to our representatives and make sure we are heard. After all, in our society, knowledge is power ... so we better start finding ways to share it with everyone.

But ...How do we make ourselves heard? We can't simply shout from our rooftops, car-tops, or windows ...we can't simply rant and write entries that are posted to the web.

Our President-elect, Barack Obama, suggests that the best way to share politically significant information with our fellow Philadelphians is to organize the City by ward. During his campaign he helped to create political organizations in every ward in Philadelphia, motivating people to take part through the power of our ideas, and capitalizing upon the power of our neighbor-to-neighbor connections.

Now we're between election cycles, but we still need to make our City livable and lasting. WE won't achieve anything of significant good unless we can hold our elected Mayor and Council accountable.

On Monday, Neighborhood Networks is holding a Town Hall Meeting where they're going to do a few things. The event will begin with a bit of music while everyone gets settled. Then, two new leaders will present their views of what challenges Philadelphia faces in the coming months and years.

They will be followed by a brief discussion of local and national health care issues.

And finally, small groups will gather, according to where we live, to talk about how our elected officials are performing and to discuss what issues we, as a community, believe they should be addressing.

This is how we can all help each other to create a truly great Philadelphia.

Come to the Town Hall on Monday.