They won the elections, now they must learn to lead

While it might be a bit premature since I wrote this editorial after this week's newspaper went to press Monday evening before the votes were counted Tuesday evening, I want to extend my personal congratulations to many of the candidates who earned a vote of confidence from local voters.

In addition to selecting Glenns Ferry’s new mayor, voters in that community as well as those who live in Mountain Home were offered plenty of choices with regards to who they wanted to serve on the city councils in both communities. In the feedback I collected from many of these candidates, it was clear each of them wanted to make things better for those who live in both towns.

Meanwhile, voters from the rural school district south of town faced the decision of whether they wanted to keep the elementary school in Bruneau open or if they felt it was best to close that school and have those students attend classes at the school in Grand View. That decision came as the number of students attending that school continued to decline to the point where students in two different grade levels ended up having to learn together in the same classroom.

Having taught at the school in Bruneau as a newly certified teacher a couple of years ago, I can honestly say that represented a tremendous challenge. None of the college classes I took really showed me how to run a classroom featuring students from two different grade levels at the same time.

With regards to those preparing to start their first days in the elected offices, they’ll quickly realize it’s significantly harder than they might expect. They’ll discover that something as seemingly simple as revising a local law tends to generate a ton of conflicting information that takes hours, sometimes days or weeks, to iron out.

Take it from someone who sat during city council meetings that typically dragged along more than three hours all because someone decided at the last minute to discuss adding one sentence to update a city ordinance. Typically, that turned these board meetings into what I typically refer to as "bored" meetings, but I digress.

The city council elections came as citizens of this nation continue to air their frustrations regarding their federal counterparts who’ve now wasted several weeks trying to do something seemingly simple as getting the new fiscal year budget finalized and approved. I would be remiss if I didn’t include the fact we have lawmakers in Washington, D.C. who are so embedded in their political ideologies that they refuse to listen to those with different perspectives.

What really doesn’t make sense involves many of these lawmakers who demand that the taxpayers of this country shell out trillions of dollars of their own money to pay for various benefits for those who illegally entered this country, many of whom have threatened the lives of those born and raised here.

Perhaps the solution involves having all of those rich elitists pay for them instead. This would include ordering all of them to sell off all of their luxury mansions, limousines, private jets and yachts and use that money to pay for the programs they feel illegal immigrants deserve until that fiscal budget gets approved.

After all, these are the same hypocrites who try to force others in this nation to do away with all of their extra homes and cars, “so we can combat global warming.” However, they’ve done nothing to set a positive example for others to follow.

This is where the problem exists. We have too many people who’ve served as federal lawmakers for more than 20 years with at least two of them who’ve remained in power for more than 40 years.

This alone represents the main reason why we need term limits for those in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Simply put, these “career politicians” need to go away and get replaced by those who are willing to listen to those with different perspectives on how to strengthen this nation and those who live here.

Perhaps this is where we could fix this federal budget crisis once and for all. If these politicians refuse to compromise the next time they vote on this budget, they’ll end up getting permanently removed from office.

Simply put, those who serve the citizens of this nation need to work together to set a positive example for other nations to follow, especially those who continue to use various forms of violence to threaten their neighbors due to their certain beliefs. Clearly, there are problems those in office need to fix to help all citizens; not just the ones who support their political ideology.

Consider this: How many people were ever held accountable during the riots this nation faced following the death of George Floyd, who died while in police custody?

Instead of following the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, who used peaceful, non-violent "civil disobedience" to enact changes in American society, all we saw back then were weeks of non-stop violence. The nightly news spent weeks documenting all of the protestors who violently and deliberately broke into various businesses and pillaged what they wanted before setting fire to these places.

From everything I've read, not one of those protestors ever got arrested nor did they face punishment for their crimes or were ordered to pay for all of the damage they caused. Instead, it seemed that those in power simply ignored what happened and brushed it aside.

I'm sure Doctor King would be absolutely furious if he knew how many of the people in this nation forgot or simply ignored the message he worked so hard to promote.

Another problem that threatens to tear Mountain Home and other communities apart involves the growing problem of addiction among those who fell prey to the dangers of narcotics that get illegally smuggled into this nation. That's in addition to those out there who've spent most of their lives addicted to tobacco and alcohol.

In this community alone, it's not that hard to tell which people battle alcohol and drug addition. You can clearly see it in their faces, let alone see it in how they dress and interact among others.

The problem with addiction is the fact these illegal substances destroy people from the inside while also destroying their physical appearance. Case in point: The average life expectancy of a person addicted to heroin is nearly 26 years less than the average life expectancy of other U.S. citizens, many of whom live to the age of 80, if not longer.

Let's not forget the dangers that drug addiction has for those awaiting birth. In addition to the possible birth defects caused by women who drink alcohol before giving birth, those who also abuse narcotics can cause their unborn children to suffer from birth defects of the brain, spine and spinal cord.

In short, these parents are destroying the lives of their children before they join us once they're born. It's something that needs to stop immediately.

As the days following the election continue to move ahead, I really hope our society could actually begin a new philosophy to help strengthen America and humanity in general. It's something I refer to as the "Bill and Ted" philosophy, which is based on the movies regarding their excellent adventure.

Simply put, we need to learn how we, as a society, need to be "excellent to each other." We need to put away our petty, personal differences and learn to look at one another from the vantage point where we simply look at one another as humans versus focusing on what makes each of us different or better than one another.

No longer should we judge people based on their race, gender, religious beliefs and political ideology. Instead, we should simply listen to one another and stop forcing our beliefs on others.

This represents one of the greatest problems this nation currently faces. We have too many people out there with opposing political beliefs who want to force others to accept those beliefs without question.

Those who refuse to follow those "orders" typically end up being labeled as a "racist" or some other derogatory term. The funny thing is the ones who accuse others of being racist are actually the ones that fit that title.

Had all of those people simply listened to each other and worked to understand the reasons behind their beliefs, maybe we can one day learn to "be excellent to each other."

Yes, I do remember that Bill and Ted also include the phrase "and party on, dudes." However, I believe that simply means that we need to sit back and enjoy our time together -- to celebrate what we've done to help one another and to turn our society into something other nations on this planet want to emulate.