Earlier this week, my representative, Doug Collins, removed my comments — which did not contain any profanity, nor any personal attacks — and blocked me from commenting on posts on his public Facebook profile. A week or two ago, he had created a post declaring we are moving in the right direction when the Democrats show up to protest. He was later confronted about the hyperpartisan statement by a commenter reminding him of his job to represent all citizens of the 9th District, not just the ones supporting a specific policy, and he later changed it.

These seem like small annoyances rather than a real issue, but it highlights a major roadblock that local Democrats, independents and even Republicans who disagree with certain policies are having recently. We cannot seem to get in touch with our 9th District representative. Or, rather, our concerns do not seem to be acknowledged or cared about by our representative, and so we are being ignored.

These social media blunders come after an attempt at a telephone town hall that left voters feeling ignored and frustrated that they could not speak with their representative. Furthermore, there have been multiple pleas for an in-person town hall, which has not yet been provided to citizens this year.

Collins is certainly not the only representative avoiding face-to-face meetings with his constituency, and this points to a much larger issue, one that doesn’t end in the 9th District. Hyperpartisan politics and politicians cannot be relied on to solve any issue we face. Any bill passed without bipartisan support can be expected to be on the cutting board the next time the White House, Senate or Congress shift parties.

Likewise, any hyperpartisan politician refusing to even listen to or, at the very least, allow comments showing disagreement does not represent the best interest of the people and can expect the same fate as the hyperpartisan bills.

Political parties should serve as a sort of blanket of values, not an oath to pass every bill and reaffirm every statement with an R or a D beside it. Elected officials are here to represent their constituency, which consists of all kinds of people with all kinds of different political affiliations and personal experience.

We should not cut off access to other opinions and viewpoints. My voice is not being represented or even heard, and I am not the only one with this grievance.

Elizabeth Casper
Gainesville

Send a letter to the editor or email letters@gainesvilletimes.com