Seeing as we are approaching a serious deadline - and no resolution has come from the powers that be - I decided to send a letter to my state representative, the honorable Ralph M. Hall. I sent this letter on Friday and I hope to receive some kind of response this week. It was a respectfully insulting letter (I know, it's an oxymoron) displaying my disappointment at how Congress and the House of Representatives have conducted themselves for the past several years that I have followed any kind of politics: Particularly as of late. Here is the letter:
Good day, Representative Hall. I would like to begin by commending the efforts of the House of Representatives' GOP members in passing the Cut, Cap and Balance measure recently. I wish I could say that there is more to be proud of, but I think that our country has been represented very poorly as of late. I have always believed that officials in positions such as yours (representative, congressman, etc.) would have a clear understanding of the responsibility/burden placed on your shoulders. It seems as though many of your cohorts have lost track of that.
I find it to be completely unacceptable that politicians appointed by the public cannot work together for the benefit of the people. As I read articles and watch the news, all I see is finger-pointing amongst both parties. Democrats are pointing the finger at Republicans because the Republicans want to seriously cut spending. The Republicans point the finger at the Democrats because the Democrats want to raise taxes. To be completely blunt about it, all of you come off as bickering 5-year-olds who are worried that the teacher is going to put you on time out. In this case, many politicians are finger-pointing in an effort to save face and hopefully secure re-election. Granted, this may not be all politicians, but the vast majority fall under this description. Let me be the one to assure you all that gaining favor should not be the priority at this juncture.
Mr. Hall, allow me to ask this question, and I would like an honest answer: preferably from you directly. As a matter of fact, I would challenge each and every representative and congressman/congresswoman to provide me with a response to this as well: do you truly believe in bipartisanship? The definition of bipartisan, according to dictionary.com, is as follows: "Of or involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other's policies." I cannot tell you how many times I have heard from both ends of the spectrum that - in order to resolve issues that exist in today's America - it will require a BIPARTISAN effort. In other words, both sides must be willing to - regardless of their differences - compromise in order to solve an issue of immediate concern to all of America.
I am only 28 years old, and have only really paid attention to the political goings on for all of about 8-10 years. However, that has been more than enough time to realize that the word bipartisan is exactly that: just a word. It is a word with a beautiful meaning that sounds great when you hear politicians from both the left and right use it because it instills a hope in all Americans that we are potentially electing officials that truly believe in getting the job done. It goes from meaningful to non-existent once reality sets in. In the past several years, I have not seen anything remotely close to - what I would define as a BIPARTISAN effort.
Here is a perfect example. President Obama claimed that it took a BIPARTISAN effort to pass the Health Care Reform Bill, widely considered as "Obamacare". His definition of a BIPARTISAN EFFORT was unanimous democratic backing, with maybe a handful of Republicans (maybe 10 reps and 2 Senators). It's not like he needed very much since Democrats claimed the majority of seats in both the House and Senate. Now that democrats don't own a healthy majority in Senate and are now a minority in the House of Representatives, the president vows to veto anything with republican backing. This mentality has trickled down into all areas of government. The problem is that Republicans would do the same if they had the majority. The government has done exactly what so many candidates - who eventually were elected - promised they would not succumb to: party politics.
We have come to a point that sacrifices must be made in order to rebound from an astronomical deficit. Once upon a time, we probably would not have had to worry about affecting the taxpayer in order to resolve an issue. Unfortunately, that time has come and gone. In order for our economy to truly rebound - and the deficit to be reduced - everyone is going to have to sacrifice. It will hurt us today, but will bring about a better tomorrow. This will only happen if both political sides can come together and work as one. If that is not possible, America will surely encounter dark times. We will collectively suffer the same fate tomorrow due to the indecision of today.
I am but one of 300 million citizens who only hopes that 535 politicians can set aside their differences to fulfill their key responsibility: to represent the people of the United States of America. Your collective responsibility is not to work toward re-election; it is to make the decisions, with which consequences are bound to arise. I have heard folks make the claim that America has failed because of the government. I agree only to a point. It is undeniable that the government has proven it is clearly incapable of coming to clear and concise resolutions with backing from both parties. That presents itself as a failure, but who is charged with appointing officials into office? We, The People of the United States of America are, Mr. Hall. We the people, are America; therefore, we have failed ourselves.
I implore you to ask all members the question I have presented to you in this message. This is my plea to you and all members of our government to set aside your differences as we approach a defining point in American history. This is - for all intents and purposes - a "make or break it" situation. Although I do not expect it, I would love to have responses from all members as to why - if they do believe in bipartisanship - does it not exist in the government today? Thank you for taking your time to read this, Representative Hall. I only hope that America's future remains light. Point America in the right direction, so that we may all reap the benefits of success and prosperity in the future.
So there it is, a letter bashing (not threatening) the way the government has conducted itself. Now, I am not saying that every politician falls in line with my criticisms, but most of them do. It's sad that we see so much blaming going on rather than a problem being solved. As a matter of fact, I am reading the transcript of President Obama's speech he just did tonight. I will be sure to post up a nice entry with regard to his speech and what I got out of it.
As for the letter that I sent to Mr. Hall: if I do not receive a response from him, I will proceed to send the same message to my state senator, Sen. John Cornyn. If I do not receive a response from him or his office, then I will proceed to send letters to every representative I can until someone has some kind of response, preferably one of a substantive variety. I think the problem with America today is that we are willing to accept answers with plenty of smoke and mirrors: something which will be discussed more in depth in my next entry as I am already seeing areas in Mr. Obama's speech in which smoke and mirrors clearly applies. Until next time...
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