Abraham Lincoln is famously quoted as having said that, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
However, given the state of politics or “poli-tricks” nowadays, I’m beginning to wonder if, in fact, people have developed a tolerance for dishonesty; especially when it comes to their political leadership.
A writer for Psychology Today determined “…politicians lie because…the cost/benefit ratio for lying is in their favor. So, politicians lie when they believe dishonesty is the best policy…”
I reflect on that political psychology because of a recent so-called “Town Hall” meeting held in East St. Louis. A flyer advertised it as a “Community Centered Conversation with City Officials.” Citizens were asked to “Bring Your Questions.”
To say that the flyer amounted to false advertising would be a tremendous understatement.
As the meeting began, Mayor Robert Eastern III informed the sizeable crowd that questions would not be entertained until a subsequent meeting.
Eastern even joked that the crowd size reflected that the meeting was about money; specifically, to solicit the input of residents in determining how $36 million in federal funding for COVID-19 relief should be spent.
The mayor, City Manager Carlos Mayfield and city staff members then offered a PowerPoint presentation. It detailed what federal funds could, and could not, be spent on. Essentially, it could be determined that the presenters have already determined where the money will be used.
Mayfield, sensing that he had a church-going crowd, had the nerve to ask if he could get an “amen” for some of his talking points when they were not greeted with applause.
Rather than taking questions from the audience, as advertised, Eastern and Mayfield engaged in random shout outs to community stalwarts and select citizens. It was an obvious ploy to divert attention from the misleading flyer and curry favor with the crowd.
It was a pathetic bait and switch job and monumental waste of over an hour of my time. I also heard similar sentiment from many of those who came prepared with pointed questions which went unanswered because of the change of agenda.
This is why many politicians are detested. Voters expect elected and appointed officials to keep their word to the best of their ability.
When a flyer titles a meeting “We Care Town Hall” and the mayor states specifically that, “my priority is whatever the citizens want first,” then attendees’ thoughts or questions are ignored, it comes across as disingenuous at best and deceptive at worst.
Would I attend a subsequent town hall event after being deceived? Doubtful.
Nor do I expect citizens to attend subsequent meetings; not because they’re apathetic, but because no one likes to feel as if they’ve been the victim of a lie.
That’s sad because $36 million is a community changing amount of money in a place like East Boogie.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com Twitter@JamesTIngram