Recently President Obama announced that he would entertain requests for waivers for some of the regulations of the so-called No Child Left Behind law. Almost immediately several states announced they would be submitting those requests. Oddly, those who have railed against the Department of Education and too many regulations immediately jumped to disagree with him...even though they had claimed that's what they wanted just days ago.
The reason for this change is pretty straightforward. The law, as it is currently written and implemented, isn't working. That's not to say it wasn't a good idea, it just doesn't seem to achieve the desired results. However, as we've seen over the last few months, this isn't the Education problem we truly need to address. The problem that is plaguing Education is the the total lack of Education of our elected Representatives.
This class is called Elections and Governance 101, and class is now in session.
You were elected to serve. You made a choice to run, and should understand the position you sought. However, it's pretty obvious many of you didn't and still don't, so...let's take a minute to clarify things.
The purpose of the position is to serve as a Leader and provide governance for the people who elected you and for the nation as a whole. What you accepted is called a Job. Like all other jobs, you are evaluated by how well you do that job. In this case, you work for a multitude of bosses, but that was your choice.
If the Government is non-functional, that reflects poorly on You. You can attempt to blame others, but the fact remains that you have failed in doing your Job. It's your Job to find a way to make things work.
You were not elected to make a lot of money, or continually run for re-election, or even to please a select portion of the electorate. You were elected to see that the Government functions for all the people, both those who elected you and all the others too.
You were not elected to parcel out Special Deals to Special folks. Not a single Corporation voted for you! They might have given you money. They might have given you lots of money. They probably think they "bought you." Sadly, they might be right.
Unfortunately, you don't seem to realize that we have a term for that type of purchase. It's called Prostitution. People pay you money to use your body for short-term pleasure. In most states it's illegal, and regardless it's not generally considered the most honorable profession.
You, however, were elected to Serve in a different way. If you're busy listening to those folks who bought your seat in Congress, you're most likely not doing your Job.
While it is true that you campaigned for your Job by espousing a particular set of political positions, that doesn't mean you automatically get your own way. If you're Serving in the House, there are 434 others who were also elected, and each of them is your equal. That means you have to learn Cooperation. It's pretty obvious that many of you have never learned that.
Cooperation means that you're supposed to find a way to make things work. That is your only Job. If things don't work, you failed. Your performance review will reflect that, and you need to understand that if your boss, the voters, isn't happy, then we will exercise the "at will" aspects of your contract. In short, we'll fire you!
We are not impressed when you demand things. Neither is your spouse or significant other. Your parents weren't impressed either, and since you're still acting like a child, that's an apt analogy. In our world, if you say "My way or the Highway" we'll send you down the road!
Your Job unfortunately includes the power to bring things to a halt. In the Senate, you can place a "hold" on a bill. Many of you do. Many of you are proud of that. You shouldn't be. Maybe we'll help you understand when we place a Hold on your future paychecks. Like Mitt Romney, you can then claim you're unemployed. We'll laugh, just like we did when he said it.
In the House, you can join your small group of buddies and refuse to vote for any compromise that doesn't perfectly match your ideas. We have a solution for that too! In Japanese, the term is Sayonara! Don't let the door hit you.
In short, we...your employers...are watching your work. Your mid-term evaluation is looking pretty sad. you've pretty much made a mess of everything and seldom tell the truth. You constantly seek to blame others for your own shortfalls. As an employee, you're pretty much a failure. We sent you to do a Job, and you haven't done it. Governance is a mess, and almost nothing of consequence has been accomplished.
You've fought over things that you knew wouldn't change, taking the country to the wire and losing consumer confidence by doing so. You've ignored or denigrated factual information that should form the basis for your decisions. You've pandered to Special Interests while the median income of the country has fallen. You refuse to create a system of taxation that is remotely fair.
In short, you've demonstrated either a complete lack of knowledge of the Job, or utter disdain for doing the Job. Maybe both.
We're opening the job for applications pretty soon. I'd suggest you don't bother applying.
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