Simple Wisdom
No Legislation Without Participation
By Pat Lencioni
As I’ve grown older I’ve come to the conclusion that the best ideas are not usually the most sophisticated ones, and in so many cases, they seem patently obvious.
Take, for instance, the rallying cry of the American colonists “No Taxation Without Representation”, a phrase that helped to provoke a revolution. I’m guessing that a lot of the people who heard that saying for the first time had the same reaction: “well, of course!” This should come as no surprise given that most revolutions come about precisely because monarchs, dictators and politicians refuse to embrace simple and logical principles of justice that even a child can understand.
Well, I think it’s time for another new revolutionary rallying cry in the United States (and a peaceful, non-partisan one!), and I’m not ashamed to say that it, too, is ridiculously simple and is being ignored:
“NO LEGISLATION WITHOUT PARTICIPATION!”
Simply put, if Congress is going to pass a law, then it must also have to live with the consequences of that law.
Now, I’m certain that a 9th grader, hearing this slogan for the first time, would respond with nothing short of “well, no duh”. And yet, our legislative leaders, who sometimes look and sound more like monarchs, don’t seem to understand it.
As it stands today, Congress is considering legislation that would substantially change the way health care in America is paid for and delivered. And regardless of how one feels about that, one thing is certain: members of Congress won’t have to participate in it. The bill expressly states that they are exempt, and as we know, they have a much better, richer plan.
Regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman, a liberal or a conservative, a teenager or a senior citizen, this just doesn’t make any sense. It gives one the impression that politicians are masters of the people rather than public servants, and that they see themselves as being more important than the people they are supposed to represent. Otherwise, why would they choose to exempt themselves but not firefighters or teachers or police officers or doctors?
Unfortunately, this is not the only example of legislators creating more favorable situations for themselves than for the average private citizens (take a look at their pension), but it is probably the most egregious.
I realize that there are those who will come up with clever and obscure arguments to try to justify the separate and unequal treatment that legislators receive. Then again, there were those in England who thought that taxing people who had no say in the matter was perfectly acceptable too.
But the fact remains that “No Legislation Without Participation” just makes sense to real people who still use principles of logic and simple justice to evaluate what is right and what is wrong. Here’s to the possibility that a new revolution will catch fire in America, and that simplicity will triumph once again.