The Glue that Binds

Dear Friends,

Stumbling through a Dollar General store, looking for last minute gifts before the holidays, I came across a section that had Magic Stick-Em Glue. I thought, “I’ll use some of this glue to impress others with my handyman skills.” Then finally I thought, “Maybe I can incorporate this when performing wedding ceremonies: instead of saying ‘until death do us part,’ I could say, ‘until the glue wears out.’”

There is glue that binds us together as Democrats, and glue that binds us together as Republicans, but the strongest glue is that which binds us together as Americans. We are one nation under God, indivisible – that’s patriotic glue. We built this nation working together, and now we must stick together. It is only if we are sticking together that we're able to address the many pressing problems facing this country. It seems we’ve forgotten the glue we once cherished: “E pluribus unum” – out of many, one.

Today, caustic comments poison the body politic, just as the bite of a cobra can poison the human body. This is not a mere highfalutin complaint from a vociferously verbose Member of Congress. The congressional campaign committees of both parties will begin to release materials denigrating the other side in the coming election year. These materials, a card and a kit, generally offer sarcastic suggestions but no serious strategies about how to legislate or lead. It is in this same vein that I share with all my House colleagues what I am calling a Statesmanship Card, offering a few ways to foster and forge our better selves. Let’s start today and practice it throughout 2016 systematically as a privilege of serving in this distinguished body.