My Letter to Congress

Dear members of Congress,

  I'm sorry.

  This is a hard message to hear, but I hope that you trust that it's just as hard for me to deliver as it is for you to hear.  (Ok, that's not entirely true.  It's a pretty easy thing to say right now.)

  I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that you don't get everything you want in life.

  This is a hard thing for all of us to learn, and I suppose you all missed this lesson.  I can understand how it's possible--given the difficulty of teaching it, perhaps your parents simply didn't enforce it.  We've been trying to teach this to our two year old, and the tantrums he throws whenever we enforce it are difficult to endure.  His tears and screams get very old, but we know that we have to persevere in order for him to learn this valuable lesson.  We are hoping that he will be a productive member of our society when he grows up, and grasping the truth that we must compromise and have empathy with the other is a valuable tool in the adult world.  I do thank you for granting me the comfort of knowing that even if he never grasps this important life lesson and continues to act like a two year old as an adult when forced to share or act mature, there is still a place of employment for him.

  In the meantime, we'll continue to discipline him and model what it means to share and act reasonably around all people, even those with whom we disagree.  We'll listen to opposing viewpoints with respect, and when we disagree but still are required to make decisions, we'll find a middle ground.  When my wife wants chicken for dinner and I want veggie lasagna, we'll compromise and make chicken with veggies rather than simply shut down the kitchen and starve each other out of spite.  When she believes it is necessary to go to Target and I don't feel like going, I'll go with her and sit in the car, rather than calling Target and asking them to close the store so she can't go.  When she wants to cuddle and I want to watch football, I'll ask her to cuddle on the couch so we can both be happy, rather than locking ourselves out of the house to prove a point.

  In all these things, we'll try and model to Caleb what respectable, reasonable adult behavior is.  Hopefully he'll learn.  If he does, I'll be glad to send my 2 year old son to Congress to teach you all how to live like the leaders you were elected to be, working to find a middle ground between differing opinions and seek the good of all the country.

Sincerely,
Keith Jones