Dear Friend,
Congressional town halls have long been a cornerstone of American politics, serving as a platform for constituents to engage directly with their elected officials and providing lawmakers with a barometer of public opinion on key policy debates.
In the past, town halls were generally safe spaces for both lawmakers and citizens to engage in constructive dialogue outside the intense pressure of election cycles. However, as partisan politics and widespread gerrymandering have become more entrenched in our democracy, town halls have evolved into a platform for constituents across the political spectrum to be very vocal about their disagreements and hold their representatives accountable for unpopular policies in one of the few ways they still can.
This shift has resulted in increasingly contentious exchanges between lawmakers and their constituents, particularly in areas where there is a significant divide between elected officials and the communities they serve.
The temperature has risen so much that Representative Richard Hudson, Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, advised Republican lawmakers against hosting in-person town halls. From Iowa to Georgia, the lawmakers who have not heeded these warnings are facing growing animosity and unrest from constituents — including both oppositional groups and their own base.
On Monday, Representative Mike Flood from Nebraska received his own homegrown backlash at a town hall in Lincoln, as over 700 people showed up to question him on a variety of topics. Constituents demanded answers about Flood’s support for ICE and his decision to vote in favor of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” despite not reading the bill in its entirety. The crowd became increasingly more intolerant of Flood’s attempts to sidestep questioning, booing and jeering the Representative while also chanting, “Vote him out!” and “Tax the rich!” at various points.
One constituent, Rosina Paolini, seized the opportunity to both address Flood and use her time to quiet the crowd, reminding them that it was important to hear the Representative’s responses so that they could hold him accountable in future elections. With a calm and steady voice, Paolini proceeded to dissect Flood’s failures to address her concerns and point out that his responses to constituents were often riddled with misinformation and lies.
“I write you emails with concerns over your voting behavior regarding Trump and his actions,” she declared. “I fact-check you, and then I send the responses back. I send them back to you, and I get crickets.” Paolini then emphasized, “This is not about partisanship. This is about issues; because we’re about to lose our democracy.”
Advocacy and holding elected officials accountable is not new to Paolini. She has spent her life serving her community, from leading efforts to maintain local parks to using her volunteer position with her neighborhood association to make the area safer for pedestrians.
In an interview earlier this week with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Paolini said she regularly attends city council meetings to bring attention to local issues.
She is a powerhouse and staple of her community, tirelessly advocating for every Lincolnite. I may be a bit biased, though — Rosina Paolini is also my aunt.
I grew up in a Christian household, and the majority of my family, including my Aunt Rosina, are still religious. I have had to conceal my identity as an atheist — and especially my role as an atheist activist — from many of my family members. But I have been incredibly fortunate to have other family members, like Rosina, who accept me as I am.
Throughout my time in law school, Rosina supported me from 1,500 miles away by regularly checking in on me and sending me pictures to brighten my day. When my father passed away in 2023, she spent countless hours on the phone with me. She never shared religious platitudes like, “Your father is in a better place now,” or, “You will see your father again in heaven,” as others would. Instead, she respected both my grief and my nonreligious belief by providing me with the support I needed.
All atheists deserve an Aunt Rosina. However, the unfortunate truth is that many of us experience family rejection due to our nonreligious beliefs. According to American Atheists’ U.S. Secular Survey, one in five atheists report feeling the need to conceal their identity from their parents, and 42.7% report concealing their identity from extended family members. Of those whose family members were aware of their beliefs, nearly one-third of nonreligious people experience some level of rejection by their family. This had a dramatic and negative impact on the survey respondents’ mental health. Participants with unsupportive families had a 71.2% higher rate of depression compared to those with supportive families.
No one deserves to be alienated from family, friends, or their broader community simply because they are an atheist. Even when we disagree with each other about religion, our loved ones can — and should — support us because of our shared values.
Believing that religion and government should remain completely separate is not unique to the nonreligious community. Neither is valuing human rights and human dignity. These values have no bounds, religious or otherwise. They are shared by people across the political and religious spectrums and should serve as the foundation for building supportive communities and coalitions.
There are many Aunt Rosinas in our communities, people who have dedicated their lives to improving their small corner of the world and will fiercely love everyone they meet, regardless of differences in religion.
As we move forward in a world where religious differences can often feel insurmountable, I urge you to be your community’s Aunt Rosina — building communities that value love, acceptance, and support for all while also fearlessly holding elected officials to account.
Sincerely,
Victoria Anderson
State Policy Specialist
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