An 11-year-old boy, David Williams, recently went to a Dallas city council public hearing to ask some questions about school safety and guns. But when he noticed that he still had some time left over–and that council members were barely paying attention to members of the public–he politely asked:

“Do you find it acceptable for city council members to be up and walking around while constituents are addressing them?”

Not only did that get the council’s attention, it propelled Williams onto the local news:

As Richard Harwood notes,

Williams’ punctured the arrogant behavior of those elected officials, holding them accountable in ways the rest of us often only dream about. His ‘innocence’ only made the question even more potent. Williams’ reminds us of the power of a simple question, and how it begs for an authentic response.

One council member, to his credit, did respond to Williams with the respect he deserved, promising to pay more attention during council meetings with the public.