Representatives ? ? ? | Eastern NC Now

    As citizens of this constitutional republic, we call the United States of America, we have the right, the honor, the privilege, and the DUTY to vote for elected officials to represent us. Now it's fair to say that those we elect will never see eye-to-eye with us (any of us) 100% of the time. But based on their responses given to questions posed during campaign season, I think it is very reasonable to expect those candidates - once elected - to keep their word to the voters that supported them.

    I typically call/write comments to my elected representatives about issues that are important to me and issues that are within current legislative conversations. Obviously, I don't expect the representatives to read every single comment, but I do expect someone on their staff to read submitted comments and report trends to their representative. In other words, keep their finger on the pulse of the people.

    Not everyone writes, e-mails, or calls their representatives, and I understand not everyone has the time. After all, if you are a working person, (not a FREE-loader), you have responsibilities at home, at your job, at your church, and in your neighborhood / community. You may not be as involved in local, state, national government as you would like. But PLEASE, if you don't even research your own candidates and go VOTE at a minimum, don't gripe and complain! If you are a non-voter, you're not part of the SOLUTION, you're part of the PROBLEM!

    [There are 3 kinds of people in the world: Those who MAKE things happen. Those who WATCH things happen. And those that WONDER what happened!]

    Even though our representatives may not vote the way we like on every single issue, as citizens, we should hold them ACCOUNTABLE and ensure they know our opinions on issues and pending legislation that is important to us and our families.

    Politicians (most) are very talented at one thing: talking out of both sides of their mouth. Their rhetoric and responses may well vary from one audience to another. Therein lies the 'reward' for their talent; making EVERYONE think they will get what they want.

    The longer a politician stays in office, the more susceptible they become to bribes, special deals, delivering favors for their financial backers, financial windfalls from lobbyists and their interests. Under the table money and secret campaign contributions become commonplace. Constituents take a back seat to other interests. How many U.S. House and Senate members are multi-MILLIONAIRES? The rules that apply to their constituents often don't apply equally to them.

    I'm not saying we should all storm the capitals of our nation and our states. (We see how that winds up.) But I am saying we should strive to stay engaged and at the very least, GO VOTE!

    Oh, and one more thing: There's one sure cure for crafty politicians who forget their constituents and that is TERM LIMITS!