by the Register Bee Editorial Board

Hank Davis told more than 100 people at the “Tom in Your Town” community meeting at Chatham Middle School the Board of Supervisors never sees as many citizens at its public hearings.

That’s true, of course.

The crowds that greeted Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Fifth District, in Danville and Chatham this week were large compared to most government meetings. But they were also loud, passionate and concerned about health care, the biggest political issue in America today.

The controversy over health care legislation before Congress has generated a backlash against the protesters, who in some parts of the country have been likened to mobs.

But is yelling at your congressman really an example of mob behavior?

In some circles, that kind of behavior could be considered rude and disrespectful. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. But it’s not a mandate for polite, genteel and comforting speech.

For his part, Perriello stood toe-to-toe with a lot of people who didn’t vote for him, don’t like him or his party and don’t want any health care bill to pass Congress. To his credit, he took the criticism, listened carefully and answered nearly all of the questions put to him.

Its helps that Perriello is a man of faith who takes public service seriously. He took a tough road from law school to Congress by working in some of the most dangerous countries on Earth. Faced with hecklers in the Dan River Region, he responded thoughtfully, kept his cool and used the sometimes-rowdy public meetings as an example of democracy in action, which they were.

One man, who spent the minutes before the Chatham meeting yelling about the proposed health care legislation, later told the Register & Bee, “This is just politics. This is just democracy. This is just fun.”

Fun? Maybe.

For his part, Perriello is a proud Democrat who doesn’t shy away from pointing out tough truths, like the fact that Social Security and Medicare are government programs started by Democrats. Or that the current health care system means everyone with an insurance card in their pocket helps pay for those who don’t put any money into the system. Or that the cost of employee health insurance burdens American companies but not many of their foreign competitors.

We’re not used to having a congressman who will meet with large groups of constituents — including those who think nothing of yelling at him in public.

Decorum took a beating this week, but democracy is alive and well in the Fifth District.