Week two of interning is now in the books and I can say that my preconceived notion of government was wrong. So wrong. For example, today's average citizen hates politicians because they're known to lose touch of the people they've sworn to protect.Working in a political office has allowed me to sympathies with these misunderstood politicians. It's not that they don't want to fulfill these promises, they sometimes can't. Many of the people who call into the office are on the extremes as far as their ideologies go. The reason for this takes root in what they call in statistics the "voluntary response bias". An example of this is when someone is content with the congressman's actions. One whose content will typically not take the time out to call into the office. Only someone who has a problem will deem it crucial to comment. It's for this reason that the callers and publicized opinions represent extreme opposition.
In the office, I take many calls in which "extreme opposition" is an understatement. These callers can call for one of two reasons, either to vent about politics in general or to share a legitimate problem witha federal agency. It's definitely harder to help the conspiracy theorists but the local office has the sharpest scissors for slicing up red tape. These people are extremely frustrated much like those who are venting because they have given up on the federal agency and must lean on us to communicate on their behalf. In this way, the congressional office takes a leading role in helping the people. When offices see the congressman's name on the caller id they tend to pick up the phone.
Sadly, there are few callers wishing to complement the congressman or the GOP, but these is a silver lining. The congressman continues to be a man of the people by removing this red tape and using the local office to stay in touch with his constituents. From afar, politics may seem corrupt but once you wedge yourself deep enough below the surface you can see the underneath the congressman many work hard to help the district.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Hello all, my name is Ryan Loney and I'm giving you fair warning, I'm new to blogging. This blog will express both my admiration and distain for the federal government. That's the essence of my senior project. I will be exploring the relationship between a congressman and their constituents. My findings will come from my internship with Congressman Trent Franks over the course of three months. Pardon my manners, let me introduce myself first and foremost.
I'm a senior in high school at the moment and my only contact with the government has been my four tries at the DMV and the civics class I took as a freshman. The idea that a government can be ran by normal people seemed crazy. During that same year we had read Mythology by Edith Hamilton. This book presented the Greek folk lore. In contrast to the idea of American democracy, these societies were ran by holy deities and the divine. No mortal men were destined for leadership. The American Government turns normal people into gods. My congressman, for example, is seen by his constituents through the same medium the Athenians would have seen Hercules. The only difference is my congressman takes down snake headed monsters that aren't named medusa.
I chose to intern for Congressman Franks not just because he's the representative for my district or because his chief of staff's grandkids know me, he's a true conservative. I was born a member of the GOP so I've always looked up to Mr. Franks. The member sits at the forefront of the pro-life movement and has vowed to never raise taxes, only cut spending. Furthermore, he's the conservative I hope to be.
I will be working at the local office. This is not as flashy as the congressman's D.C. where they work on the legislation, my office focuses on connecting constituents with the federal government. This can be done in a variety of ways from voicing the opinions of the people to cutting through the red tape of the bureaucracies. After my internship is through, I will be able to see if congressmen are men of the people and see how the office helps the local community.
I'm a senior in high school at the moment and my only contact with the government has been my four tries at the DMV and the civics class I took as a freshman. The idea that a government can be ran by normal people seemed crazy. During that same year we had read Mythology by Edith Hamilton. This book presented the Greek folk lore. In contrast to the idea of American democracy, these societies were ran by holy deities and the divine. No mortal men were destined for leadership. The American Government turns normal people into gods. My congressman, for example, is seen by his constituents through the same medium the Athenians would have seen Hercules. The only difference is my congressman takes down snake headed monsters that aren't named medusa.
I chose to intern for Congressman Franks not just because he's the representative for my district or because his chief of staff's grandkids know me, he's a true conservative. I was born a member of the GOP so I've always looked up to Mr. Franks. The member sits at the forefront of the pro-life movement and has vowed to never raise taxes, only cut spending. Furthermore, he's the conservative I hope to be.
I will be working at the local office. This is not as flashy as the congressman's D.C. where they work on the legislation, my office focuses on connecting constituents with the federal government. This can be done in a variety of ways from voicing the opinions of the people to cutting through the red tape of the bureaucracies. After my internship is through, I will be able to see if congressmen are men of the people and see how the office helps the local community.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)