Contributed by Josh Fryfogle
(907) 373-0955
Show of Hands - Update
The musical performances at last night’s event were 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
- PFD
- Overtime is over taxed - as such the Federal government should be providing
public roads to access public lands in AK, as they do elsewhere
- Hemp applications for industry
- Finding a solution to homelessness in the Mat Su
- General role of government in our lives
- No elected representatives attended our 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, last night 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 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 last night. Music makes sense of things.
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(907) 315-0024
joshfryfogle@mac.com
