By David Hegg
From the top, I’m going to rephrase what this column hopes to get across. Let’s consider “what we have the right to expect from our elected officials.”
Broadly speaking, we all have certain expectations for doctors, law enforcement officers, teachers, pastors, moms, dads, waiters, waitresses, and certainly many others if we had the time and space to list them. My point is, given our government was founded to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” I’m going to prime the pump during this runup to Election Day and let those running, or already serving, know what we voters have a right to expect from them. We expect these things to be consistent, not performative, and each to be an explicit demonstration of who they really are!
Integrity: We expect that you, Mr. and Mrs. Elected Official, know the difference between truth and error, good and evil, transparency and hypocrisy, and will live up to the highest standards of integrity even when it hurts you. What we don’t want is your finger in the wind as you decide what path will preserve your electability. If you call evil good, and try to put lipstick on a pig, we’ll know, and never let you get away with it. Don’t even try to shade the truth. Give us the truth! We can handle it. As Martin Luther King, Jr put it: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Discipline/Self-government: We expect you to lead a disciplined life in getting your job done. You will read all you’re supposed to read, learn all you must know, make every meeting we’ve elected you to attend, and demonstrate the self-government we expect: No sexual dalliances. No fraud. No derogatory or coarse language, and certainly no character defamation toward anyone. Remember, you’re supposed to be an example of the best we have to offer. We have the right to expect you to live up to the privilege of public service.
Humility: No, you’re not special because you managed to get enough people to vote for you. We expect you to be humble, eschew the trappings of entitlement and display true humility consistently. I have a favorite quote from Psalm 138 that speaks to the nature of Almighty God: “For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.” You should try following his example.
Accessibility: OK, here’s a big one. We expect that we can talk to you, correspond with you, and maybe even be useful to you at a reasonable level. Don’t send all our requests to your scheduler. Don’t create hoops we have to go through to communicate with you. We don’t expect to have regular times with you or even get a personal email every week. But neither will we allow you to use doing your job as a massive wall of protection from the very people your job is all about!
Independent Decisions. We expect that you will assess every situation, regulation, decision and position, rather than follow the “herd mentality” that allows party powers to determine how you think, what you say, and how you vote. I did not elect a party or a promise; I voted for you, and I expect you to be up to the job. Do your own study! Put everything through your own intellectual grid, and vote your integrity and conscience. If I disagree, at least you’ll have reasons for doing what you did, and that’s all I’m asking.
Be Collaborative: Listen to everyone and be winsome enough to have coffee with political opponents. We are fed up with the divisive tone politics has taken. Too often, we see elected officials doing and saying things that widen the divide. After Lindsey Graham’s promotion to glory, many on both sides of the aisle celebrated how he could engage everyone in conversation, even his most ardent opponents. This reminded me of that poignant line in Katharine Lee Bates’ poem that became our musical gem, “America the Beautiful.” She wrote: “America, America, God shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.”
We sure could use a heaping helping of brotherhood, sisterhood and good ol’ camaraderie both in our citizenship and our leadership. So, Mr. and Mrs. Elected Official, rise up and meet our expectations. You work for us, and every few years we get to do your employee appraisal and review with a little piece of paper called the ballot.
Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
