Dear Editor: CHICKEN

Dear Editor,

Most of your readers probably remember the 80s TV show Who's the Boss? That's the subject of this short rant. I vaguely remember writing something to this effect previously, though it's been some time, but "Who IS the boss?"

The overwhelming majority of our public servants, those who are elected to represent (NOT rule) us seem to have forgotten that all-important principle. Oh, sure, many or most will publicly acknowledge they are appointed to serve the best interests of the people. A good percentage of these actually have good intentions when they enter the race. A good percentage again of these too have what they perceive as the best interests of the people at heart. But too often, such aspirations fall flat on their face!

First, what they perceive as the best interests of the people isn't necessarily in the best interests of the people. Second, too many that begin with good intentions soon find themselves thoroughly (irrevocably, even) enmeshed in the political game, which unfortunately, most find that, if one doesn't play according to the rules of said game, one cannot win!

Thankfully, not all who enter the political arena have ended up playing the political game, at least according to the rules; this is true on the federal and local levels. This is why this nation as a whole has not yet erupted into a full-fledged Civil War. The violence that we hear about almost daily on the national news may be an indicator of said Civil War though. The people are getting sick and tired of being told what they can or cannot do with what they perceive as rightfully theirs (it IS, BTW). I acknowledge there ARE some bad apples (a lot, actually), but that is neither here nor there (for now). The threat of Civil War IS looming on the horizon, but it IS avoidable! When ELECTED officials remember that they ARE after all, PUBLIC SERVANTS, that they are NOT our rulers, rather, if anything, WE are theirs, then we might begin to see matters begin to calm down!

All we can do, first, as citizens, is do our best to ensure that we keep our own noses clean and to keep our elected officials accountable (remember, they work for us; not we for them!) Secondly, to reiterate, as sovereign individuals in our own right, if we govern ourselves in such a way as to cause harm to no one, then our public servants will then have no reason to bring the hammer down except to say "Case closed!"

I determined before I wrote this letter not to name any names (they KNOW who they are), so to stay true to my intent, I will go no further except to say, "CHICKEN!"

Charles Haddon Shank

Whitehall, Montana