The good news for Arizonans is that they are not the worst drivers in the world. South Floridians are, as I witnessed firsthand on my many trips there.
Here in Scottsdale, they drive fast, while in the Miami area, they drive from left to right, right to left, up to down, vertical to diagonal, and the only thing that outranks their age on a numerical scale is their IQ. But the Grand Canyon state runs a close second.
This is not elderly bashing - it's about when people should no longer be allowed to drive.
This brings me to the thought that it is time for our congressional members to ‘turn in the keys.’
I looked at my driver's license and saw that it expires in 2025 when I turn 72, and then again at 77, 82, 87, but it’s just a rubber stamp renewal. A vision test is all that’s done and ‘maybe,’ a written knowledge test.
Senator Mitch McConnell was tested and Diane Feinstein was tested and somehow they passed. I am not a doctor. Nancy Pelosi is three years older than our president and while her acuity is not in question, the age issue does come up. Certain things DO diminish as we get older and there is a difference between having your finger on the remote or your finger on the roll call.
Congress is a funny place. If an aging politician has a stroke, they can still serve. If they become overly medicated due to some unforeseen emotional or physical trauma, they can still serve. We know they can have sex. But without any talk of a real plan to determine whether they can stay in office, it’s up to them; and without a system of checks and balances, anything is possible. Or it is up to the voters to vote them out of office.
I think we have too much government these days, but when they stop comprehending the severity of legislation that affects our country, then they are no longer representing the best interests of those who put them in what Laine Hanson calls The Chapel of Democracy.
But I am not as cold-hearted as it may appear.
It is both difficult and sad to make the decision to take away the keys and it’s frustrating when people hold on to power for the sake of it.
We know it is the right choice, but it doesn't make it any less demeaning. But how many of us out there make the right choice for ourselves or for others?
Many of us have enough sense to hand over those ‘keys’ but how much does pride, stubbornness, or thirst for relevance or power get in the way of others?
Many of these questions may be moot if our leaders don't find a way to address the problem. But someone else's problem becomes our problem.
When our leaders hesitate to cut up the ‘license to legislate’ they take a chance they may drive into a ‘stone wall’ someday, and remember…. rocks beats scissors . . . every time.
Amen!
No one will ever take the quill or the keyboard away from you. You’re still a gifted writer.