Legislators forgot purpose of “we”

Whatever happened in our society to our ability to think, reason and decide? Our elected officials seem to decide first without any evidence of thinking or reasoning based on facts. There seems to be a big gap between knowledge, truth and reality and how our legislators function.

There was a time when cooperation, compromise and the common good were evident in legislative decisions. Currently, the emphasis seems to be on “me” without regard for “we.” The marginalized population has been treated with compassion and understanding, whereas now we legislate so as to suppress and isolate them. There is a present effort to remove their images and stories from books of learning. Our legislators seem to have the attitude that if you pretend they don’t exist, then they don’t exist. It is like thinking that if you don’t look in the mirror you will get no wrinkles.

Schools teach children skills for problem solving and conflict resolution and we expect them to use those skills. However those practices are left at the doorstep of our schools and no longer evident in much of our public decision making. Name calling and bullying are unacceptable among our school-age population, but it seems quite fine when adults get the microphone and insult and attack those who disagree with them.

We seem to be quite proud of our “values;” yet I look for evidence of positive values like acceptance, encouragement and honesty. How can we restore dignity and respect in our culture?

Shiela Kielly

Marion