The noise you’ve been hearing about health care reform in this country is just that: noise.

It’s loud, obnoxious, unintelligent and, in most cases, nonsensical. Thousands around the country have flooded town hall meetings hosted by President Barack Obama, senators and representatives showing their support – or in many cases opposition – to a piece of legislation that is nowhere near being voted on in the Senate.

There have been several bills proposed in the House, but a bill hasn’t even passed through committee hearings in the Senate. Watch “School House Rock” if you need a refresher on how a bill gets passed through Congress.

Now the fact of the matter is this: No one knows what the final draft of this thing is going to look like. Folks who think they’re going to have free no-strings-attached health care in the near future are wasting their breath. And Americans who think a health care bill will break federal law by covering abortions need to use their voices in a more constructive manner.

If and when a health care bill is ready to be voted on in the Senate is when you should voice your approval or disapproval for health care reform. And a word of advice: Make your voice intelligent and informed in this important debate. Showing up to town hall meetings with pictures of Obama wearing an Adolf Hitler mustache is not intelligent. Neither is booing an opponent of health care reform who is voicing his or her opinion in a respectful manner.

When a final bill is ready to be voted on, it’s up to our generation to be engaged and informed. Watch debates on C-SPAN, read the newspaper, contact your representatives in Washington and if – you can get through all the political jargon – actually read the proposed bill.

It is up to our generation to change the atmosphere surrounding the health care reform debate and atone for the individuals who have negatively impacted this all-important issue with their unintelligent, misinformed rhetoric and classless actions. We’ve changed the course of this country before, and we can do it again.

When it comes down to it, we will be the ones forced to live with the effects of health care reform. So it’s only fitting that we should be the loudest, yet most respectful and most informed, voices in this debate, setting a positive example for the rest of the country to follow. No matter where you stand on the issue in the coming weeks, be informed and be heard.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.