Today, I watched – very briefly – as the new Congress took turns reading the Constitution one paragraph at a time, then switch to a member of the other party, lather, rinse, repeat. It’s difficult to really get absorbed into the depth and meaning of our framework document when nearly every sentence is followed by “I now yield back the remainder of my time to (the next person)”… It really reminded me of elementary school plays where you were allowed to have your lines on a slip of paper as you faced your parents in the audience. You felt so proud when you read it without stumbling… is THAT what today was all about? Was the room filled with parents and grandparents of the members taking pictures and standing between them and the punch and cookies for a job well done?
Otherwise, I’ll have to admit, I’m at a loss.
I know the new party in power set this on the agenda, yet the opposing party participated during every paragraph switch. You can’t say “junk food is bad for you” while you sit with the bag holder and stuff your face with the Halloween booty. You’ve forfeited the moral high ground at that point.
So, for whom was this half-a-work-day display really intended? Was it beamed into the classrooms? The poor students must think they should “yield time” after every request to the teacher now. Was it for the (limited number of) CSPAN2 viewers who just returned home from the unemployment office, yet don’t like soaps and talk shows? Was it for the veterans returning home from overseas for a brief liberty with their families before having to redeploy? Maybe it was for the Chinese investors, Wall Street, Main Street and others who needed a break from watching the “debt clock” spin out of control.
Maybe it was for continuing education of members of Congress. Beats me. I thought they would have already read the Constitution before they ran for office, or, at the least, before they took the oath.
So, what was this for? For whom?
Were there other pressing issues that could have benefited from a half day of work, discussion, compromise and voting? I’ll venture a guess: YES.
Perhaps it would behoove ALL members of Congress to continue the recitation tomorrow. This time, let’s read the encyclopedia definition of “common sense”… in unison…
At the risk of wasting YOUR time, what do you think?John... so your potential ire can be directed properly! :)
