A Voice in the Legislature

What happens when your family gets together?  Some families make music.  Others dance, fish, play cards or softball; a few argue and we all eat.  In my family we seem to have only one skill—we talk.  Boy do we talk!  If there are eight people in the room there are ten conversations going on and you better be able to juggle three at once or people will consider you, “stand-offish.” 

            We learned this skill at our parents' knees.  Mom was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, Dad was a Democrat and politics was served at every meal.  The only rule was that you had to keep one foot on the floor.  The lessons have stayed with me. 

            I love politics.  In its purest form it is a chance for humans to exercise their better angels.  True, we seldom see it, but the opportunity is there.  Good legislation requires the magnificent concept of compromise.  A good compromise makes good legislation because it forces all parties to use a hierarchy of mind and heart.  Everyone involved must choose what they are willing to give up and what they can’t live without.  Nobody gets their way entirely, but everybody gets a portion of success.  Compromise encourages dialogue and discourages rancor.  If what you want is broad support for your agenda, you have to make sure that it includes items that everyone can call their own.  It also encourages civility.   You don’t encourage honest negotiation by heaping scorn on the worthy opposition.  The art and genius of compromise is that victory is given, not wrested, from the hands of all concerned and everyone has a stake in its success. 

For this system to work well, our legislators have to know that we expect a great deal of them.  To do that, we need a voice.  While our vote is certainly a kind of voice, it is delivered either before or after the fact of legislation.  It is much better to be able to talk to our representatives while they are engaged in the process of governing.  My wish to be an active, not passive, voice in government led me to the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature.  I am one of five seniors representing Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron Counties.  We are part of a group of 117 representatives throughout the state.  It is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, and while I serve in that capacity I make sure I am wearing my neutral colors.

The concept of an organized group of seniors dedicated to working directly with the state legislature on issues of aging began in the, “Show Me” state of Missouri in 1973.  Knowing a good thing when they see it, the 69^th Texas Legislature created the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature in 1985 and the 1^st TSHL Legislative Session convened the next year.  Since then we have applied our collective wisdom, energy and experience to improve the lives of all Texans by improving the lives of the aged. 

As a new member, I went to Austin for five days of training in July and another four days in October.  All of this is done at our own expense and on our own time.  During each legislative session we write, present and defend roughly a dozen resolutions to our elected representatives.  Some pass, some become folded into other resolutions, some gain no traction, but we have our voice.

The Texas Silver-Haired Legislators are hard working and dedicated to making good decisions for seniors and retirees.   Doing all of this, I know that somewhere my parents are smiling--and arguing about my best course of action.  

Find your legislative voice, and keep the faith.