Six years or a Lifetime?

          Many people say that you should never talk politics or religion. In this week’s text response blog, I will be breaking one of those rules. After reading the article “Bailout Politics”, I saw the very common Washington D.C. rhetoric. We messed up and caused a problem, but now let us fix it. Maybe, this is the problem in our nation’s capital. We trust that long-term politicians, regardless of party, will make decisions that are in our country’s best interests. But could they simply be acting in their own best interests? Could they be only seeking re-election? Or possibly to reward people who have given them favors in the past? This is why I am a big supporter of term limits for Congress.

            When the Constitution was ratified, I believe their intention was to create a government which was comprised of citizens who wanted to serve their country after an established private life. Instead, we have many public servants who only have experience as politicians. For example, Eighteenth District Congressman (IL) Aaron Schock has only been in politics since his graduation from Bradley University in 2002. I’m sure that he is an intelligent man, but he has been afforded the benefits of being an elected Congressman virtually his entire adult life. I doubt that he can truly empathize with the struggles of the average working person. Mr. Schock is only one example, and we don’t have to look very far to find him.

            I feel that people in Congress should be limited to six years. Three terms for the House and one term for the Senate are reasonable limits to serve our country. This may begin to limit the cronyism that infects Washington. There is nothing wrong with going to D.C., try to help our country, and then going home to resume your family life. Maybe if they weren’t always looking to the next election, they could possibly make decisions that make our country better.