Demand proper behavior from representatives

Respect, decorum, kindness, empathy, collaboration, and tolerance. These traits have all but disappeared in our current political environment. As a business leader and Christian, I find the current state of our country to be at a tipping point, a point that may take us to a place from which we cannot recover. Why is bullying, intimidation, constant lying, and complete intolerance of those who are different from us the new norm of communication and behavior? I wish I had the answers; I don’t.

What I can do though is speak up and demand accountability. I can demand my state and federal representatives begin acting as we would expect an adult in a leadership position to act. We should demand proper behavior and accept nothing less. We need to vote for people who will begin to bring sanity and respect back to our politics regardless of party affiliation. A true leader knows that compromise is the true art of making a good and lasting deal.

Concessions must be made to bring two opposing sides together if you want to make a deal that will last the test of time. Asking each of us to be respectful, kind, empathetic, collaborative, and tolerant is not asking you to change your political party, it’s asking you to make your party change the way they behave. A change that can move our country forward together. If we can’t rely on our leaders to lead, it is up to us to show the way.

Rocki Shepard

Cedar Rapids