JOHN BRANTUK, San Clemente
A big thank you to City Councilmembers Kathy Ward, Steve Knoblock and Laura Ferguson for voting down the proposal to more than double councilmembers’ pay, thereby reminding the other two councilmembers what the meaning of “public service” is.
Although $880 a month would not make anyone rich, the growing attitude of elected officials everywhere seems to belie the term “public service,” because once “electeds” get “the fever” (power, perks, access, etc.), it quickly overtakes their common sense and pledge to “serve” the public.
Instead, they focus on whatever it takes to remain in office, even to the point of when termed out, playing musical chairs to move to another political office whether it be federal, state, county, local or even dog catcher, it seems.
This “fever” negates our country’s founding promise of government “of the people, for the people, by (emphasis mine) the people” and has created a separate class of self-appointed elites who believe they can direct our lives better than we can ourselves.
Most of us seem to complain about the decisions made on our behalf by these elites, yet we continue to buy the lie that they can do the job better than us.
No, we need to go back to basics and all take turns at “serving” for a short spell and then returning to normal lives (job, family, etc., i.e. a real life). Politics was never intended to be a career path; this has only succeeded in insulating those who make the rules from those who must follow those rules. We need to end this insanity now.
If we continue to do what we’ve always done, we’ll continue to get what we’ve always got; is that good enough?
