The Importance of Being Heard

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, I attended the Springdale Town Council meeting to show my support for the Red Hawk neighborhood, whose residents were speaking up against the 70-foot cell tower being placed near their homes. I left that meeting feeling deeply disheartened. What stayed with me wasn't simply the issue being discussed or the decision being made. It was the experience of watching people bring so much of themselves before our town's leadership, and feeling saddened by the way their efforts were received.

I believe the quality of our community is reflected not only in the decisions we make, but in how we treat one another while making them. A person can leave a meeting disappointed in a decision and still feel respected, heard, and cared about. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Yet, as the evening unfolded, I found myself feeling increasingly heartsick. What I witnessed in the responses from the mayor, town council, and town planners was a sense of defensiveness, impatience, or indifference. There seemed to be so little curiosity about the people standing before them, so little acknowledgment of the thoughtfulness and vulnerability they had brought into the room.

I watched an entire neighborhood come together. One by one, people stood to speak, each having taken the time to research, reflect, prepare, and thoughtfully articulate their concerns. There was such sincerity in their words, such care in the way they presented themselves. They spoke with respect and dignity, even while expressing deeply held concerns about something that affects their homes and their lives.

There was a palpable feeling of solidarity and shared concern in the room, as audience members applauded each speaker upon returning to their seat. Here were people who cared enough about their neighborhood and their community to do the difficult work of participating, and others who recognized the courage it took to stand up and speak.

I don't believe that listening compassionately means agreeing with everyone. Nor do I imagine that the mayor, council members, or planners have easy responsibilities. There are competing interests, difficult decisions, and considerations that extend beyond any one person's concerns. But surely we can disagree without dismissing. Surely we can make difficult decisions while still treating people with warmth, curiosity, and respect.

How much more complete might that evening have felt if the people who spoke had been met with genuine acknowledgment by the town's leadership? If someone had simply said, "I hear you. I understand how deeply this matters to you. Thank you for sharing your perspective." Those words wouldn't have resolved the disagreement or changed the difficult decisions ahead, but they would have changed how people felt walking out of that room. And in doing so, the leaders would have contributed, in kind, to the meaningful experience of community already present that evening.

This matters even more in a small town like ours, where the people standing before the council are not strangers or abstractions. They are our neighbors. They are people who love Springdale; people who have invested their lives here and who are participating in shaping its future.

I believe we are capable of offering one another something better.