Mrs. O'Brien goes to Wash...St. Paul

I went to the state capitol today to sit in on some committee hearings for the Family Policy Class I am in. I walked there, heels and all, because it was a gorgeous day and because well, we just live so close. I must say it felt a little symbolic walking right out the front door of my apartment building and directly into a meeting where bills that will affect millions of people were being processed. In the span of thirty minutes I went from my one-bedroom apartment with all hand-me-down furniture to the center of our local government. Never had to say who I was or why I was there- just walked right in (anyone who has taken an 8th grade civics class is like, “duh”, but the blending of the physical and ideological struck me). Now granted, the process of actually writing a bill or being able to testify on behalf of a bill is obviously more selective, and there is a lot more that goes on between legislators that is not seen in committee meetings or on the floor, but when you think about it within the span of all of world history, even that level of transparency and accessibility is pretty amazing.


I was thinking a lot about this on my walk home. It is too bad that our political environment is so reactive. As a liberal (in case you did not know this about me), when I hear a depiction of the United States as the most highly evolved or ideal society, I feel compelled to point out the great injustices that still exist here and the ways in which we can (and need to!) improve. Any human endeavor is going to be flawed and have unintended consequences. The danger with expressing a hyper-positive view of our country, is that if we truly believe that at any one point this is “good enough”, so many voices and problems will go unheard. What would have happened had we been satisfied with the “democracy” in the Jim Crowe South, for example? However, this critical eye can lose sight of all things that are positive (guilty as charged). Perhaps to conservatives, this is like hearing a spoiled teenager claim that their parents are the worst people in the world, while thinking about all of the sacrifices and care that this kid is taking for granted. I see that- I saw that today as the capitol and state building were filled with very committed and caring people all working on our behalf. It is pretty exciting to think that the process of decision making is open to a great many people and is quite transparent. On the other hand, it is pretty sad to think that this process is still quite dominated, true not by those with “birthrights”, but by what remains to be a quite racially, economically, and educationally homogenous group. Our debates so easily turn into America as either the greatest nation on Earth or the most corrupt and devoid nation, but could it be both admirable in many respects and in need of continued reform? I will do my part and try not to be so reactive and acknowledge the great many things this country (thanks to those very people who did not settle and held our government accountable) does provide to its citizens.

Thanks for listening,
Kirsten