Lawmakers should consider legacies

When elected to represent a group of people, it is important to remember that one was elected to represent all members of that group. Any elected official should be expected to listen to all sides of an issue. Truth may lie in another’s reasoning. Any vote or bill writing should be based on facts of law and science as well as compassion.

Shouldn’t elected officials be expected to listen to those whose lives will be impacted by laws?

Elected officials should seek out those citizens who are on the margins of society; those written off as unworthy. Shouldn’t those people on the edges receive the same attention as the wealthy and powerful?

I hope that any elected officials would take the same precautions in putting their names on a bill as they would when they sign a contract. Putting one’s name on a legal document should not be hurried. Going along to get along shouldn’t rule when a bill damages people and places.

I would ask elected officials what their great-grandchildren might think about the laws they signed. Legacies remain.

“With malice toward none and charity toward all” was part of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Following the Civil War, his call was for peace, not retribution. Shouldn’t all laws be based on trust, truth, compassion, integrity, and peace?

Karen Carlton

Waukon