This may not do as much good as it needs to or we would hope it would, but we need to let elected officials know we are paying attention. A couple of key themes:
- we need you to more consistently tell us the truth and value those who do, not those who don’t – sadly, the names of those who don’t are well known;
- we need you to make more fact-based decisions rather than what funders, spin doctors and opinion hosts may tell you and others – it is hard enough to govern when you use facts, but nigh impossible when you don’t;
- we need you to recognize both major parties do not have all the good ideas and both have some bad ones – one party has a bag of ideas with too many holes in it and the bad ideas are rushing out, a key reason they are letting more extreme opinions drive the bus;
- we need you to work toward solving real problems not ones spin doctors said will cause wedge issues and garner votes;
- we need you to work together in a civil manner using that Jesus message whenever possible that was so important it was called golden;
- we need you to recognize winning and losing an argument is secondary to getting the best solution; and
- we need you to recognize you work for us, the citizens of the country, state, county or city – use your time wisely toward that end and be accountable.
As parents, we learned long ago that who your kids play and associate with matter. It is a key reason we always wanted their friends to be welcome at our house. We got to meet them. So, elected officials need to know who they value and spend time with matter. Do you want to be known for hanging around someone who acts like a bully, denigrates people and is untruthful, or do you want to be known for hanging around someone who is a truthteller and seeks to hold people accountable? It is your choice, but we are watching.