Perhaps a quiet walk beneath a blue sky filled with fast-moving clouds, such as here in Utah's Canyonland National Park, will invigorate the will of politicians to do what is right for the American people. -- Photo by Pat Bean
“America is a tune. It must be sung together.” — Gerald Stanley Lee
Just for Today
Talk these past few days about the government shutting down has been disturbing to me, and I’m sure to many other Americans. But I didn’t feel any relief this morning when I read that the shutdown had been averted.
Instead I felt angry with all the games too many of our politicians have been playing to booster their own parties, their own images, their personal agendas and their personal vendettas. I watch as we, the American people, try to elect leaders who will go against the current political grain, only to see the newly elected join it.
I don’t have all the answers on how we can change this ever-worsening situation, but I do have a few suggestions:
One-term limit of four to six years for all politicians so they can spend their days working for the people instead of working for re-election.
Salary and benefit packages of elected officials that are in line with those of the average wage earner of their constituents so they will be more in touch with those they were elected to serve.
Everyone, not just politicians, could benefit from taking time to smell the flowers, such as these in Maine's Scarborough Marsh. -- Photo by Pat Bean
Politicians who are more concerned with what is right then in staying loyal to their parties.
And, most importantly, a mandatory day once a month for politicians to walk a scenic landscape with Mother Nature to restore their souls.
These suggestions, in case you’re interested, come from an old broad who is proud to be a tree-hugger who yearns for world peace.
Perhaps, dear blog readers, you have other suggestions for changing the status quo in our nation’s capital. If you do, hopefully you’ll share. Change has to have a beginning.
Pat Bean's blog 