這裏有一篇文章，看後可能更明白那詞的意思。

Another face-palm moment from Columbus City Council
BY LYNDSEY TETER

Published: Monday, July 26, 2010 1:54 PM EDT

Everybody knows that if you’re elected or, in some cases, appointed to a position in local government, it is your privilege and honor to sit there and take it while your constituents take a stand behind the podium, droning on and on about whatever is bothering them at the moment.

From the most articulate to the most inane public opinion, public servants are supposed to pretend to listen for hours at a time—often deep into the airing of whatever evening television program you enjoy watching. That’s what you signed up for, Mr. or Ms. Public Servant.

And dear God, if you’re having a public hearing on a proposal to legalize closed-door meetings of council, something the public will ultimately have to vote on and approve, it might behoove you to stave off criticisms of, oh, I dunno, cloaking yourselves in secrecy, by allowing ample time for opponents of such a proposal to drone on. Let them go on until they’re blue in the face, for heaven’s sake. We can’t believe we’re saying this.

However, three detractors of a plan to—we’re not kidding—legally shut out the public and allow Columbus City Council to meet in private were taught a lesson Monday when they got a taste of what it’s like to get shut out of discourse. Thankfully, reporters were salivating to tell the story of the slighteds.

James Moore happily arrived at City Hall Monday morning to sign up to speak against council’s proposal to put closed meetings on the ballot. The item was last on the bazillion-paged agenda, so he figured arriving 15-minutes late to the meeting wouldn’t be a problem. He had expected to sit for hours, but then a buddy watching the meeting on TV called to tell him City Council President Mike Mentel had moved the issue to the front of the agenda.

When Mentel called Moore’s name, he wasn’t present. Moore’s late arrival didn’t stop Mentel from shutting him down.

“I made it to chambers while debate on the issue was still going on, informed a clerk and staffers that I was present and still intended to speak, and was told to sit down. Another opposition speaker also arrived, however, we were never acknowledged by the chair or allowed to voice our opposition to the issue at hand,” Moore said.

Strangely, all three of the speakers for the resolution were present and accounted for, Moore said.

Luckily, Moore had his thoughts typed out, so here they are, as written, for Mike Mentel’s benefit:

(Much like council, our time is limited, dammit, so we’ve cut out all but the most ironic parts.)

“Good evening, thank you for granting me the opportunity to speak before Council this evening. My name is James Moore, and I am a lifelong Columbus resident who currently lives in the North Linden area …

“Many people in the city and across the nation feel alienated from the political process, and it is my belief that moving forward with this change to the city charter will further exacerbate this sense of powerlessness.

“Currently, there is a serious lack of public discourse in the City of Columbus. One party has been in control of city council since 1965. No Republicans have been on council since 2002. I consider myself a Democrat, but even I understand that this is bad for public debate. An opposing viewpoint needs to be presented to ensure that City Council does not become a rubber stamp for the rest of City Hall or business interests in the city.

“Why do I believe this resolution is bad? Recent precedent is for City Council members to be appointed to their initial terms, not elected. To appoint them behind closed doors completely removes them from the City Council selection process. You are not public employees, you are elected officials, and the public should be allowed to make the decision if you serve.

“This change to the charter obeys the letter of our laws and traditions, but violates their spirit. It continues a bad and inherently undemocratic precedent, that of the appointment and not the election of City Council members. I always tell my students that if you don’t make the system work, the system works you. If this change to the charter is passed, I will be able to point this out to my students as a perfect example of how the system worked over the citizens of Columbus.”

Clintonville Area Commission member Nick Cipiti also left chambers Monday night feeling neglected. Here are some of his remarks, too:

“My name is Nick Cipiti. I am vice-chair of the Clintonville Area Commission. I do not represent the commission with my comments today, I am speaking as a resident of Columbus.

“Members of council are public officials, not city employees. As such they should be held to a higher standard of scrutiny with less secrecy and more transparency. No one would argue that employees should not be interviewed in private. Those are conversations between an employer and a private citizen.

“But even on the Clintonville Area Commission, individuals who seek an appointment to a vacant seat are required to get signatures and file a petition with the commission, and then they are asked questions by each member of the commission, in open session, in full public view.

“This is followed by a verbal vote from each commissioner. Even unpaid, volunteer commissioners are held to a higher standard than you seek for public officials who would serve the entire city of Columbus.

“I ask you to hold our public officials to a higher standard, and bring more transparency and less secrecy to the appointment process.”