LETTER FROM SACLEPEA

Do We See Why We Are Here?

This week, I find myself asking a simple question that should unsettle every one of us who sits in the Legislature: Do we truly see why we are here?

Not the glamour. Not the motorcade. Not the salary. Not the public show. Not the noise we make in the Chamber, the yelling, the cursing, the endless partisan performance that wins applause today and leaves nothing standing tomorrow.

I mean the real reason.

I am reflecting, as a lawmaker and as a citizen, on the purpose for which our founding fathers created the Legislature in the Constitution. And I ask myself, and I ask my colleagues: Do we ever pause long enough to contemplate the sacred assignment we were given?

Because if we did, if we honestly did, we would admit that many of the things we celebrate today were never the dream. They were never the design. They were never the intention.

The Legislature was not created as a stage for ego. It was not formed as a marketplace for influence. It was not built to become a battleground where we trade insults while the people trade their dignity for survival.

It was created to be something far more serious.

It was created as a check and balance for governance. A place where power is questioned, not worshipped. A place where national decisions are weighed, not rushed. A place where the people are not pushed far away from government, but kept close to it.

The Legislature was meant to make ordinary citizens feel, in the deepest sense, that they are in charge of their government. That government is not a distant force that happens to them, but an institution that answers to them.

That is the true spirit of “for the people, by the people, and of the people.”

And I keep wondering: If we would sit down, quietly, without cameras, without pride, without party slogans, and reflect on why this branch of government was created, would our behavior remain the same?

Would we still reduce national suffering to partisan advantage?

Would we still treat oversight as personal warfare?

Would we still turn the people’s mandate into private comfort?

I do not believe so.

I believe that if we returned to the original meaning of our role, many of our actions would change.

We would think beyond partisan politics. We would align our votes, our debates, our priorities, and our discipline with the welfare of the people. With the desires of a nation that wants a better life and deserves leadership that is serious about that promise.

So, this is my reflection from Saclepea:

Before we ask for more respect, let us ask whether we have respected the purpose of the institution we serve. Before we demand honor, let us ask whether we have honored the calling.

And before we speak again in that Chamber, let us answer one question honestly:

Are we really doing the job for which this branch of government was created?

Think about it.