I have attended many town hall meetings. In the Midwest, they are quite common. Someone obtains a permit to use a public building, and people from every part of the community attend to express their opinions. Passions often run high as conflicting opinions are debated, but no point of view is excluded. Town hall meetings are the very essence of democracy in action.

I find it difficult to view Governor Schwarzenegger's visit to Escondido on Sept. 30 as a town hall meeting, although that was how the governor's office described it. How could it be a town hall meeting when it was held for (as reported in the next day's North County Times) "an invitation-only audience that seemed to dote on Schwarzenegger's every word?" Anyone who has been to real town hall meetings knows they are seldom love fests. In communities that have a long tradition of town hall meetings, the Escondido event would have been viewed as a partisan political rally. By definition, a town hall meeting can't be restricted to one point of view.

This is tantamount to a debate between one person, a dialogue involving one speaker or a panel discussion with one participant.

The encyclopedia Wikipedia describes a town hall meeting as "a concept which originated in New England when everybody in town showed up to speak their piece and then vote on an issue. In today's heterogeneous communities with large populations, more often, town hall meetings are held so people can influence elected officials in their decision-making process."

By this definition, the event in Escondido absolutely reversed the purpose of town hall meetings. It was held not so citizens could "influence elected officials," but rather, according to media accounts, so Schwarzenegger could "encourage audience members to help rally support" for his propositions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this —— so long as it is not presented to the public as democracy in action.

Even Sen. John McCain, who has accompanied Schwarzenegger on some campaign stops, acknowledged that he favors a more "open town hall meeting" because "it has credibility." McCain is being discreet, but he is clearly admitting that political events with controlled agendas and hand-picked audiences are not town hall meetings.

In his classic essay, "Politics and the English Language," George Orwell warns us that such abuses of language involve more than just semantic differences. "If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought," Orwell writes. "A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better."

According to Orwell, politicians corrupt language, and then a corrupted language corrupts the culture —— which in turn makes it easier for politicians to further corrupt the language. The vicious cycle feeds off itself like a hurricane gathering strength over warm tropical waters.

When we reverse the meanings of certain bedrock democratic institutions and traditions like town hall meetings, and these corruptions of language go unchallenged, we are well on our way to a total corruption of our political culture.

Escondido resident Dennis M. Clausen is a professor of American literature at the University of San Diego.