"Tangled up in Blue"

I have just finished two weeks now working in the Senate. I would like to think that this is an unusually busy time around the senate with the latest all night filibuster on the War on Terrorism and the heated debate on SCHIP but I am starting to wonder if this is a typical week. The hours have been crazy and the jobs up-in-the air until the last minute. The staff members are stressed because of lack of sleep, food, and personal life and frustrated by the ongoing debate of a bill they have been putting in countless hours working on for the past year. The senators continue walking through the motions as they meet with their constituents, vote on bills, and work within their committees with every minute scheduled out for them from 7 AM until 8 PM at night.

And the citizens of the United States wonder why it is that our government is out of touch with the American people? Maybe it has something to do with the type of lifestyle and environment that our senators and their staff are forced to live in. This is a fast-pace, always-changing, not-so-friendly, lack-of-personal life types of career that these people have chosen in hopes to better our nation. But when you turn on the news, is this the impression that you get? Do you have any understanding of the hard work, time, and situation these elected officials and staff are involved in everyday?

The only impression that I get is that they are all corrupt, selfish, and money hungry. There may be some that have their own interest at hand but overall these are good people working for the everyday person doing the type of tasks and passing the type of legislation that the average American cannot do on their own. I have utmost respect for all those that give their all everyday to their work on the Hill. Our nation would not be so great without their continued efforts and passion.

For all of the work that they do, I vow to do my part to keep informed and vote and become civically involved so that they can better do their job. I have learned that as many newspapers your read or C-SPAN hours you watch, you can never be too informed or be too civically involved. No matter what you do, as a citizen becoming informed and as an elected official getting legislation passed, it is never enough.

Instead of focusing on the things we aren't doing or the things we don't know, we should begin to look at all of the good things that are happening all around us. Our country is not perfect because we, as human beings, are not perfect. As long as we continue to try our best and work together we can accomplish great things. Divided we fall but together anything is possible.