On this 4th of July I thought this was something that should be read. It comes from Jerrol LeBaron in California.
"As we head into the 4th of July weekend to celebrate the hard work of our Founding Fathers, it is only fitting that we consider them for a moment.
If we were to broadly sum up the key differences between our Founding Fathers and today’s politicians, what would we say?
Here’s how I would make the comparison:
Today’s Politicians:
A 900 page bill can get 300 pages added to it in the middle of the night and get passed by the House hours later.
A cell phone law can get passed where the legislators neglect to make text messaging illegal. How could 120 legislators plus all of their staff, legislative analysts and consultants miss something so obvious? Not to mention, some are of the opinion that the cell phone law was silly in the first place, as almost everyone drives with only one hand on the wheel. It makes one wonder about the care and consideration our state legislators are putting in on the vital issues, if they can be so careless on something which requires a minimum of common sense.
The number of examples of political malpractice are almost limitless.
Founding Fathers:
Our Founding Fathers worked day in and day out for weeks to form the Constitution of the United States. They fought, bickered, theorized, examined history and discussed the situation in detail. After weeks of debate, they came up with a document a few pages in length – our Constitution.
This document has stood the test of time. It was so carefully and well written that other nations have used this as a basis for their constitutions.
So, what is the difference between today’s politicians and our Founding Fathers?
OUR FOUNDING FATHERS TOOK THE TIME TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.
Several things are certain:
1. For the most part, no one is going to read a bill hundreds of pages long, except for those who stand to profit from its use.
2. Regardless of who put it together, a bill hundreds of pages long, compiled in a matter of days, is going to have major problems. It’s going to necessitate more laws to fix the problems it causes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A stitch in time saves nine.
3. Our legislators, in no small part, are responsible for our current crisis.
IT’S TIME WE PASSED SOME LAWS TO KEEP THEM IN LINE.
Turning it around:
The way to turn this around is to get today’s politicians to do what our Founding Fathers did. We need to make our politicians take the time to get the job done right.
But it is impossible to do the job right if few to none of our legislators are reading the bill. A major step in the right direction is to require our legislators to read the bill before they are allowed to vote in favor of it.
Most of our legislators came into office to do the right thing. Due to numerous factors, many of them have lost their way. We need to give the newly elected and the honest legislators a tool by which they can defend themselves against peer pressure and the unscrupulous.
We need a tool by which we can start to defend ourselves against dishonest politicians. The Honor In Office Act can help keep our legislators in line.
With your help, we will turn the Honor In Office Act into law and start making our politicians accountable to us."
Sincerely,
Jerrol LeBaron
Executive Director
Honor In Office
www.HonorInOffice.org
"As we head into the 4th of July weekend to celebrate the hard work of our Founding Fathers, it is only fitting that we consider them for a moment.
If we were to broadly sum up the key differences between our Founding Fathers and today’s politicians, what would we say?
Here’s how I would make the comparison:
Today’s Politicians:
A 900 page bill can get 300 pages added to it in the middle of the night and get passed by the House hours later.
A cell phone law can get passed where the legislators neglect to make text messaging illegal. How could 120 legislators plus all of their staff, legislative analysts and consultants miss something so obvious? Not to mention, some are of the opinion that the cell phone law was silly in the first place, as almost everyone drives with only one hand on the wheel. It makes one wonder about the care and consideration our state legislators are putting in on the vital issues, if they can be so careless on something which requires a minimum of common sense.
The number of examples of political malpractice are almost limitless.
Founding Fathers:
Our Founding Fathers worked day in and day out for weeks to form the Constitution of the United States. They fought, bickered, theorized, examined history and discussed the situation in detail. After weeks of debate, they came up with a document a few pages in length – our Constitution.
This document has stood the test of time. It was so carefully and well written that other nations have used this as a basis for their constitutions.
So, what is the difference between today’s politicians and our Founding Fathers?
OUR FOUNDING FATHERS TOOK THE TIME TO GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.
Several things are certain:
1. For the most part, no one is going to read a bill hundreds of pages long, except for those who stand to profit from its use.
2. Regardless of who put it together, a bill hundreds of pages long, compiled in a matter of days, is going to have major problems. It’s going to necessitate more laws to fix the problems it causes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A stitch in time saves nine.
3. Our legislators, in no small part, are responsible for our current crisis.
IT’S TIME WE PASSED SOME LAWS TO KEEP THEM IN LINE.
Turning it around:
The way to turn this around is to get today’s politicians to do what our Founding Fathers did. We need to make our politicians take the time to get the job done right.
But it is impossible to do the job right if few to none of our legislators are reading the bill. A major step in the right direction is to require our legislators to read the bill before they are allowed to vote in favor of it.
Most of our legislators came into office to do the right thing. Due to numerous factors, many of them have lost their way. We need to give the newly elected and the honest legislators a tool by which they can defend themselves against peer pressure and the unscrupulous.
We need a tool by which we can start to defend ourselves against dishonest politicians. The Honor In Office Act can help keep our legislators in line.
With your help, we will turn the Honor In Office Act into law and start making our politicians accountable to us."
Sincerely,
Jerrol LeBaron
Executive Director
Honor In Office
www.HonorInOffice.org
