Last night during the state of the union address by the President I was particularly moved by his talk about the unified mission of our troops regardless of their race, creed, political affiliation or sexual origin. How, in order to carry out their missions, they know that they have to trust one another and have each other’s backs at all times. That makes sense to me, I only wish our government worked that way. Growing up I believed that even though we have a two party system and varying ideologies amongst us, ultimately the good of the constituents should and would always come first. But in my adult life I have yet to see that, but I still have hope. That is I did until I took my kids to Washington this past October. We traveled there to witness the historic dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial. It was an amazing experience. Then we spent a few days being tourists in the city.
Senator Dick Durbin’s aides were kind enough to schedule a tour of the Capital building including offering us passes to visit the House and the Senate. The House was not in session, but there was some business being handled in the Senate. (Well, sort of.) Shortly after we arrived in the gallery we heard Senator Cardin from Maryland take the floor. (We only heard him because he was below our gallery seats. We never did catch a glimpse). Who we could see was his Republican counter part, patiently waiting his turn to answer. The subject at hand was the appointment of the National Printer, William Boarman. Judging from the rather lengthy and detailed resume that Maryland Senator Cardin shared Mr Boarman is a pretty impressive guy in his field of printing. I remember Senator Cardin said that Boarman was the youngest president of his Union, and has been working at his craft for over 40 years. Seemed like an easy yes to me, and to my kids. When Senator Cardin was finished it was time for the Republican answer. I don’t remember which Republican Senator was there, but I do remember that he said he was speaking on behalf of himself, Senator Hatch and one other Senator, and then he said, in effect, “No.” (He actually used a few more words than that, but not many.) Then he sat down. That was it. It took about 30 seconds and it was over. Over. My jaw literally dropped. I kept waiting for the Republican Senator to get up again and explain his position. “Surely he has to give a reason. He cant just say no.” My kids looked at me dumbfounded. but I had no answer for their silent queries. As a parent who teaches her children that they need to support their opinions, that just dissenting is not enough, the example the Senator was setting wasn’t working for me. I tell my kids, “If you want to say NO to something, you need to be clear about the why. You owe it to the person you are conversing with to give your explanation.” That is unless you are a mom saying no, then all you really have to say is “because I said so.” (But I digress.) In all seriousness I couldn’t believe my eyes, my ears or my mind. Was this really happening? Was a Presidential appointment of the National Printer, a job that most of us don’t even know exists, being held up for over 18 months with just a “No”? The answer is Yes. Yes it was and it can.
Watching the State of the Union last night, (now with a deeper connection after having sat myself in the seats of the gallery of the House, I couldn’t help but think of that moment in the Senate back in October. So this morning I looked up the appointment of the National Printer. I was curious as to what has happened to Mr Boarman’s appointment since I was in DC. What I found disheartened me even more. Here’s the story, as posted in an article on AllGov.com:
Despite the best efforts of President Obama and the Democrats on the hill, Mr Boarman joined the ranks of the unemployed in December 2011, because his appointment was never approved, all it got was a No. Mr Boarman was out of a job and we the people were once again out of luck. Senator Schumer spoke passionately about his frustration with the situation on the Senate floor December 17th. However, it was to no avail. Because according to a piece that ran in the Washington Post on December, And for what I ask you? What did anyone gain by thwarting it. Mr Boarman said in a Washington Post piece,
Some of the comments on the Post piece reflected what I sensed in the Senate Gallery that day,
But here’s the thing. When government stalls like it did with Mr Boarman, and the passage way for appointments becomes jammed up by unsubstantiated “No’s, it’s not just the President these Senators are sticking it to, it’s the American people as a whole. The National mission of our representatives is to take care of all citizens; to keep government moving so we can address the cataclysmic issues of poverty, unemployment, fair housing, taxes and war that are in desperate need of their attention and action. But those pivotal issues do not command full attention, because they cant be seen over the pile of tabled appointments that are stacking higher and higher each day, all on a bed of No’s.
Our mission is a unified one, and we will only be successful if we pull together and push through the door as one nation. We all speak highly of our American troops, maybe it’s time we start emulating them more, working together no matter our differences political or otherwise. Then, and only then will we be able to declare “Mission accomplished. America has won.”
ML
Miss Lori can be found Musing from her Minivan at MissLori.TV , Wearetherealdeal.com , YoungChicagonista ,ChicagoMomsBlog , and ChicagoMoms.com. You can also see her Activating to Be Great at Miss Lori’s CAMPUS on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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