“During the evening show, multiple people brought up homelessness in the Mat-Su area, and the overwhelming majority of hands raised were in support of having that discussion. I was moved by the empathy and honesty in the room.”
Contributed by Josh Fryfogle The musical performances at the Jan 11th Show of Hands event was the perfect accompaniment to this civic engagement. For most of the night, the musicians gave us their best, on the best stage in the Mat-Su, by far. The rest of the night, the music served the purpose we had hoped it would, to remind people that we can work together and talk about difficult topics with peace and harmony. I was amazed at the hearts of the musicians, and how the hearts of the audience were opened. People spoke with regard for one another, and I felt hope in the room. HERE ARE THE TOPICS THAT WERE NOMINATED FOR DISCUSSION BY LOCAL PEOPLE LIKE YOU: >> Plastic Water Bottles, Plastic Waste >> Psychiatric Medications Being Overprescribed >> Social Security Admin Cutting Representative Payee Program
>> Permanent Fund Dividend >> Overtime Being Over Taxed >> Hemp Applications for Industry >> Finding a Solution to Homelessness in the Mat-Su >> General Role of Government in Our Lives >> No Elected Representatives Attended the Event >> Self-Sufficiency in Alaska >> Transportation as a Community Issue These were the issues that were spoken into the public record, in a public place, at Glenn Massay Theater. Offered up with sincerity by local People in attendance, these topics were explained for roughly two minutes by the human person who nominated them. These topics were recorded, and will be disseminated online and on the radio (95.5 The Pass) in the coming months. Those in attendance were able to vote for, or not vote for, as many of these topics as they chose. Then, the topic with the most show of hands, at each of the two events,
was discussed - not debated - by the people in attendance. During the matinee, multiple people spoke on the Permanent Fund Dividend, and the large majority of People voted to discuss that topic. The conversation was as close to a consensus as I could imagine, but rather than tell you what I think was said, we made video and audio recordings of it, so stay tuned for more. During the evening show, multiple people brought up homelessness in the Mat-Su area, and the overwhelming majority of hands raised were in support of having that discussion. I was moved by the empathy and honesty in the room. Thank you to all of the volunteers, my staff, the theater staff, the musicians, and most importantly, the People who stepped up, spoke up, and lived up to the Liberty that we’ve all been given. I was proud to be an Alaskan at this event. Music makes sense of things.
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