A Third Grade View of the Legislature

This past week I was joined on the floor by a bright young man visiting the legislature with his class. We talked about the schedule of the day. First we would have the prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and then we would take attendance. He thought pushing the green button and seeing my name light up on the board was cool. He figured out very quickly that when the Speaker rapped his gavel you either stood up or sat down. Then it was time to consider bills. The first two were housekeeping bills and went very quickly. The bill was explained, the ding for the key to be opened and the vote-green both times. On the third bill there was a considerable amount of disagreement, lots of debate. My darling guest finally leaned over and asked if I didn't find this a little boring. He thought they kept saying the same thing over and over-he was correct. Sometimes as legislator's we feel that what we want to say is so important we should say it even if someone else already has. A very good reminder for me. He did think it was better when he got to push the red button on the "boring" bill. That and a little candy helped make the day a success. I did tell him about a bill we were going to discuss about pop in school. He decided that wouldn't be boring and he would vote yes! There is nothing like looking at the process though young eyes.