“I took a speed reading course and read War and Peace’ in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.”
– Woody Allen
Months before ground troops stormed into Iraq, the Intelligence Community put together a detailed situational and security assessment of Iraq. Their report was intended to provide Congress with the information needed in order to best determine if a military campaign in Iraq was warranted or justifiable.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of their report, Congress members were not distributed copies of the report, however they were instructed that the report would be available for review in a secure room. The report indicated much of what we already know to be true and expressed the risks and lack of supporting intelligence to support a major military strike in Iraq.
Only 6 Congressmen took the time to walk to the room to read it. Several weeks later, Congress overwhelmingly voted to authorize action against Iraq.
It is a commonly accepted practice for Congress members to not actually read or comprehend the bills and legislations upon which they vote. They either review summary documents on current legislation provided by their staff or they adhere to party lines, thereby not needing much more than a cursory understanding of what’s being voted on and when.
This is Politics by CliffsNotes, where summaries or water-cooler discourse are involved in understanding the gist of a bill. Even worse, and yet more common, is allowing party line to determine one’s position, rather than understanding how the legislation would affect the average American.
I may be going out on a limb here, but I suggest that politicians should be required to do their jobs. I propose we apply all the same rules to elected officials as employees have in the Private sector. We could begin with mandatory, on-time attendance to work. I won’t over-indulge myself with details of how little time Congress actually spends working, but how about a minimum of seven hours a day? Furthermore, legislators should be required to read the legislation upon which they will be voting; we could mandate three to four hours a day for reading bills and researching issues for upcoming votes. A library could be established for this purpose alone, where Senators and House Representatives are required to log time. This is a very important part of their jobs and a full understanding of the details of legislation would reduce wasteful spending on corporate earmarks, pork projects, and politically-motivated legislation. We should promote the legislation of issues rather than partisan politics.
If politicians actually did their jobs, the work would be hard and trying; however, they have an important role in society and if paving the path for our Nation’s future was easy, we wouldn’t need politicians.
“Men cling passionately to old traditions and display intense reluctance to modify customary modes of behavior, as innovators at all times have found to their cost. The dead-weight of conservatism, largely a lazy and cowardly distaste for the strenuous and painful activity of real thinking, has undoubtedly retarded human progress”
– V. Gordon Childe