[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        ESSAY BY JONATHAN FROST

                                  _____
                                 

                            HON. PETE OLSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 19, 2016

  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to interact with some of the 
brightest students in the 22nd Congressional District who serve on my 
Congressional Youth Advisory Council. I have gained much by listening 
to the high school students who are the future of this great nation. 
They provide important insight from across the political spectrum that 
sheds a light on the concerns of our younger constituents. Giving voice 
to their priorities will hopefully instill a better sense of the 
importance of being an active participant in the political process. 
Many of the students have written short essays on a variety of topics 
and I am pleased to share them with my House colleagues.
  Jonathan Frost attends Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. The 
essay topic is: What makes the political process in Congress so 
challenging?

       John Adams once said, ``Our Constitution was made only for 
     a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the 
     government of any other.'' Today the political process in 
     Congress is challenging because the representatives in 
     Congress have lost that shared set of core values. Congress 
     was not always in the gridlocked state that it is now. While 
     political parties have always differed on priorities, 
     strategies, and tactics, until recent decades members of 
     Congress held a set of core values. Such values included a 
     shared view of America's role in the world, the independence 
     of the judiciary, respect for the Constitution, universal 
     freedom, a shared religion, and the desire for the nation to 
     put America's interests first.
       What do we have today in Congress instead of that shared 
     set of core values? Instead of acting as a unified body that 
     acts in the interests of the people of the nation, Congress 
     acts more like a divided group of tribes who always try to 
     harm the opposing tribe. The tribes primarily call themselves 
     ``Republicans'' and ``Democrats'', both of which would rather 
     hurt each other than do what's best for the nation. If 
     Congress could agree again on a shared set of core values, 
     then the legislative process would be easier and more 
     productive.
       To spawn these shared values, the stubborn allegiance most 
     Congressmen have to their respective parties cannot continue. 
     The challenge of getting political parties to change their 
     ways is exasperated by many decades of bad blood and 
     misbehavior. Many observers date the deterioration of the 
     political parties from the character assassination of 
     Clarence Thomas and his nomination as a Supreme Court 
     Justice. The personal and insulting nature of the tactics of 
     a few Democrats led to a downward spiral of revenge and 
     payback that continues to this day.
       The practical solution will require courageous leadership 
     by strong and popular leaders of each of the two major 
     political parties to join together in forging a concise set 
     of core values to guide the work of the legislative branch. 
     Only those leaders can define the values, but here are a few 
     that might guide us:
       Individual Responsibility
       Compassion for those who cannot provide for themselves
       Hard Work
       Innovation
       Free Enterprise
       Strong Military
       In the same way that great organizations are guided by a 
     shared set of core values, Congress could consider only 
     legislation that does not run afoul of the agreed set of core 
     values. Sadly, the course of human history suggests that it 
     is unlikely that two such visionary leaders will 
     simultaneously emerge.

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