Congress: (n) a legislative body

I grew up in the Midwest–not bold enough to “go West, young man,” and not near enough for ‘East of Eden.’

One autumn, a farmer in a nearby town planted too many pumpkins. They were rotting in his field, and released a nasty odor. Since it was nearly deer hunting season, he invited hunters out to his farm, to shoot the pumpkins, to just enjoy the hell out of doing it, so the pumpkins would fly into pieces and be absorbed into the soil.

I don’t know if it was a great idea or not, but everyone was thrilled with pumpkin slaying.

I feel a similar sensation in this day and age as our government–our legislature–our Congress, if you will, has become the token pumpkin that the American
people are encouraged to shoot, hoping to eliminate some of its stink.

There is certainly plenty to criticize.

For instance, I once ate a chocolate eclair, and a friend commented to me that the crust was “a little bit dry.” I repeat–IT WAS A CHOCOLATE ECLAIR. But some people complain about the weight of the gold they have to carry to the bank.

Likewise, with the red, white and blue, I’m not so sure any of us are terribly concerned about the progress of our nation. We seem to be empowered by the notion that we can bitch at will while never being criticized for it, or anyone demanding that we explain in detail what our real complaint might be.

The government of the United States has successfully progressed for nearly 250 years. Some hard times. Many decisions.

But we have survived.

We need to isolate the dead parts of the system and surgically remove them without feeling the need to attack the entire frame of Uncle Sam.

That would be an intelligent discussion. That would be valuable.

I will not criticize Congress, nor will I pray for it. Neither profile is productive.

But I will participate in meaningful discussions about why things don’t work–and rather than holding onto tradition, finding ways to make our Congress an actual congress of the mind of the American people.

(click the elephant to see what he’s reading!)

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