An Informed Leadership
Political unrest has erupted over the last few months in the U.S. and rightly so. A rift has been revealed in our country not just among its citizenry but between the electors and the elected. Politicians work so hard to represent their party’s ideas they forgot to listen to their people. Take for instance Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R, UT), who received massive backlash over social media after introducing H.R. 621 to the Natural Resources Committee last week.
This representative was so out of touch with his populace that he didn’t even know what he was doing was against their wishes not to mention the interests of several groups he belongs to. Thankfully, after hearing the voice of the people, he represented them appropriately. But what if we were not aware or he did not get the message in time? The idea that we put someone in office who is similar to us in hope they will act accordingly is how a lot of people vote, including myself in past elections. Legislators do not have to be the most informed citizens, they just have to be the most informed leader. Dialogue, real dialogue, is the foundation of the legislative process. This does not mean a bunch of suited officials yelling at one another in a great chamber while hordes of protesters yell at each other out in the streets. Both the elected and the electorate fail in this field. When I hear an executive order signed I think about how I feel and people I know feel not how my Senator feels. It isn’t enough that they be ready to listen. After all if there is nothing to hear then why listen. We as people who call this place home must be fervent proponents of our own voice and tenacious protectors of our rights. We live in frightening times and during these times is when it is most important to be vigilant and ready to inform our leaders that the will of the people will dictate the law of the land, not vice versa.