A Bipartisan Calling

There is no question that our political system exists in a state of chaos. This post is intended to convey a different, less politically charged message than you've read here on these pages as of late.


This post is intended to convey a message of bipartisanship and cooperation.


I was awake last night, thinking, as I'm often prone to do. I thought on the confirmation hearings, the animosity, and the rhetoric coming from both sides of the political aisle. Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, the buffoonery of Congress continues, and it saddens me.

So I imagined myself as a wide-eyed, idealistic United States Senator, newly elected, and stepping into the long-standing fray. I ask myself how I'd react, and I'm reminded of the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  

Would I have the courage to speak? If so, what would I say?

That, my friends, is a difficult question to answer, and one I shouldn't have asked myself at one o'clock in the morning. I spent the early hours of the morning contemplating. The words below are what I would love to say, were I a newly elected Senator, addressing the Senate in these trying times.

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My fellow Senators: I stand before you today with equal parts optimism, and disappointment. I, like you, was elected to this chamber by a constituency that believed I would best serve their interests, and the interests of the American people generally, as their representative in the United States Senate. I say I am optimistic, as I have barely begun a six year journey in which I will strive to do just that; represent the people, protect the people, and ensure that the American dream lives on through me, for them.

Yet I am disappointed, because I stand before a body politic that, collectively, has forgotten its purpose.

I stand before you today to remind myself, to remind all of us, of the distinct privilege bestowed upon us, and the extraordinary obligation that accompanies that privilege.

We do not serve at the pleasure of the president. Neither do we serve at the pleasure of our party; we serve at the pleasure of the people. It is to them, the citizens of this great country, that we are beholden. And we have failed them.

In the short time I have been a member of this Senate, I have seen my colleagues engage in behavior ill-fitting the offices we hold. I have witnessed misplaced self-righteousness, and utter hypocrisy. I have listened to those criticize the exact actions in which they themselves have previously engaged. I am saddened by the double standards to which we hold one another. I am disheartened that we cannot, as elected representatives of the American people, come together to act in their best interests rather than our own.

Today we stand on the precipice of a deep, political abyss. If we are not cautious, we will witness this government tumble forward and will be unable to stop its descent. The solution to this conundrum is a simple one; step back.

We all need to take a step backwards, such that we can see the abyss before us with clarity of mind and of vision. We must reevaluate the steps taken to bring us to the precipice at which we stand, and we must ask ourselves how, and why, we find ourselves in this position.

If we engage in such reflection, true, meaningful reflection, I think we will all look upon ourselves with the same level of disappointment I now feel. Too often we find, and for too long we've found ourselves, and I speak generally for all of those here, obliged to the wrong ideals. We have promoted policies that serve not all of the people, but those whose voices ring the loudest in our ears. In doing so we've been able only to hear, but have failed to listen.

There have been a great many more voices speaking to us than we've acknowledged, regretfully.  The events of these last weeks, and especially those in the immediate days following the inauguration, have shown us that those voices demand, and deserve, our attention. The soft voices have come together in a crescendo that will no longer be ignored. We cannot discount the words spoken, nor can we marginalize those speaking them.

Ours is not a perfect system of government nor, in many instances, is it ideal. I speak not of our democracy, but the shape into which we've molded it. For too long has this body, and the Congress as a whole, operated outside its mandate. My intention today is not to lay blame upon any particular Senator or political party, for we are all to blame. No, my intention today is to escape the past, and forge a path forward. We must embark on a new journey, beginning today, through which we must declare that we, those in this chamber, will act in the best interests of the people.

Though uttered nearly six decades ago, the words President John F. Kennedy spoke at the Loyola College Alumni Banquet in 1958 remain ever cogent: "Let us not despair, but act. Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic Answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix blame for the past – Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

How present are those words today? How foolishly have we failed to heed them? How disappointingly have we forgotten the charge President Kennedy left for us?

I am ashamed, as should each of us be, those in attendance here today, of what this body has become. Still, we are not precluded from eschewing the reputation that precedes us simply because there are those who expect otherwise.

I am reminded of the words of another President, Ronald Reagan, and I beseech all of you to hear these words, think on them, absorb them into your conscience: "When I took the oath of office, I pledged loyalty to only one special interest group – "We the People'."

We are a ship lost in a storm, set upon a tumultuous sea - we've forgotten how to sail the waters into which we've ventured, because we've broken our compass. Waves of special interest and the people's discontent toss us about, threating to tear our sails and break our ship apart board by board. We must hold fast, and remember our purpose. Then, only then, we will guide this ship to calmer waters.  

I like to think that each of us here entered the political realm for the overarching purpose of doing what's right for the people of this nation. I must believe that. We must all believe that. For if that is not our purpose here, then we've no business in this chamber. We've no right to stand here pretending to champion the people when we're lured elsewhere or otherwise.

Today I challenge each and every one of us here. It is our time to begin again representing the extraordinary citizens of our country. It is our time to renew their faith in us, and assure them that it is their best interests we seek; that it is their liberty at the heart of our desire. We must erase the lines of party and ideology that divide us and recognize that the basis of our strength is the commonality we share, not the differences we do not.

I stand here with my hand extended, and invite you to join me in this endeavor. Let us ensure that those seeking to govern will do so fairly and justly, with competence and conviction. Let us accept the responsibility of which President Kennedy reminded us, and let us renew our loyalty to the people as President Reagan pledged.

The path ahead need not be treacherous or wrought with peril, though there will be times when it will indubitably seem so. It is with cooperation, perseverance, and responsibility that we will reach our destination. Together we can reclaim the luster lost from this chalice of freedom. Together we must remind all that this truly is a government by the people, for the people.

Let us embark.

Now, I will yield to questions.

 

 

© 2017 J.J. Goodman. All rights reserved.