walrus51

Here is a short snippet from an interview with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on The Brian Lehrer Show July 18, 2011:

“The Mayor and I have a good working relationship because that is what is in the best interests of the citizens of the City of New York for the Mayor and the Speaker to work together — every Mayor and every Speaker. And, for the Mayor and the Speaker to agree as much as they can, and when they can’t, to disagree agreeably…. That’s what the people deserve.”

Refreshing talk from an elected official in the U.S. circa 2011!

Some of our Congressional leaders – elected to Congress by their constituents, and appointed to those leadership positions by their colleagues – could greatly benefit from a lesson in civility and polite political discourse, if for no other reason than to serve as a positive example to our young people of responsible adult behavior.

Stop cyber-bullying in schools? One important ingredient is to show young people by example that public bullying and baseless political attacks are counter-productive.

Some of our elected officials in Washington seem to have lost sight of their responsibility to serve as positive examples to the next generation.

Is this too much to ask or to expect?