Opinion

Uphold the oath

Recently, while asleep, I experienced walking a steep, high mountain trail that dead-ended only to have the return path blocked by a slide. I could jump and risk death or starve. Thankfully, I awoke to a safe bedroom in Keizer.

The dream just may have been inspired by political events where one political party follows a leader who’s indicated he wants to take our nation to an autocratic form of government. Meanwhile, the other party says it wants to serve all Americans through “social infrastructure” enhancements but cannot agree among its own members to pass legislation that’d accomplish such objectives. All and more of the same are enough for a mere mortal like myself to acquire a regimen of nightmares.

So, our elected leaders bicker and fight among themselves, day after day, year after year, while the nation (and state, too) lingers in a kind of a national stalemate where it often seems that only the wealthy make gains. As a result, those of us who care what becomes of our nation wring our hands in helpless distress, nostalgically recalling the days when our politicians were adequately mature, secure enough in themselves to make decisions, dedicated to compromises to keep the nation afloat, with practiced values that exceeded more than acquiring more power, more money and more re-elections.

One answer to what ails us is to elect a new slate of politicians who’ve proven they can get along with others, recognize fact from fiction, and do the hard and responsible work of governing. Opinion also leads one to believe we need term limits at single numbers, requiring those representatives who leave their voting district for another state to resign. 

These conditions appear vital to positive futures for our children and coming generations. Meanwhile, we must insist on and demand of those in public office that they uphold their sworn oath of office.

Gene H. McIntyre

Keizer