Talking too much

My youngest son didn’t learn to talk during the first two years. He had been very sick when he was a new born and as he approached two years old without speaking, the doctor speculated that the speech center might have been affected. I took him to the developmental evaluation center and they confirmed that he couldn’t speak.

Every day I prayed “Dear God, please let Charlie speak!” God has a good sense of humor. Charlie’s first words were in a sentence and they were obscene. I faced the same challenge most parents face at one time or another - do I beat him or do I praise him? I praised him. After that, I bribed him to talk.

We tend to create our own monsters. Today, Charlie can’t shut up. He talks constantly and I nod as he talks. I don’t understand a fraction of what he talks about but I listen anyway. When I get tired of listening, I go to another room and close the door. I think he is still secretly waiting for my approval and praise as he talks.

Politicians have the same problem. They talk constantly. The more nervous they are, the more they talk. They want our approval. Unfortunately, like my son, they talk too much and they don’t listen or take action very often.

Republican Senator Voinovich said that republicans have been blocking a vote on a small business bill since July. In an interview with the Washington Post, he said that the GOP's opposition "didn't have anything to do with the bill," but was about political "messaging." The republicans are more interested in playing party politics and talking about what needs to be done rather than taking action and doing what is best for the people. Good for Voinovich. He isn’t interested in just talking about taking action. He is willing to separate himself from the political machine that is still sitting on idle while the country goes down the drain economically.

Likewise, Democratic Representative Glenn Nye of Virginia broke with President Obama and stated that he would vote to extend the Bush tax cuts to everyone and not just families making less than $250,000 per year. He said that he was voting the way his constituents wanted him to vote. Imagine that! A politician has heard the alarm bells ringing and has stopped talking in order to listen to the desires of the people who elected him.

Other politicians need to stop talking and start listening. The voters will be heard.