I really do want 15 minutes on the floor of the House or the Senate.  In SC or in Washington, DC.  I won’t be picky.  “They” say that most people fear public speaking more than death.  Not me.  I fear failure more than death, and I love public speaking.   I have a teacher voice and don’t even need a microphone.  I actually have the teacher “look” and sometimes don’t even need to talk to make things happen.  Its a minor superpower that I know many of you share, and it’s fun, isn’t it?  But I really just need 15 minutes in Congress to wake some people up and put us back on road to peace and prosperity.   Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t have all of the answers to the problems that face this country.   But I do know this: there is a better way to get TO the answers and we are NOT going in that direction.

I’m an INTP.   If you have never had a Myers & Briggs assessment, you might want to get one done.  It helps you understand a little about how you naturally interact with the world and the ways you interpret events and make decisions.  It’s not a personality test, and there are no good or bad assessments.  Its really very interesting.   There are 16 basic types, and I am the Logician: the problem solver.   Imagine that.   INTP’s tend to be a little unconventional in our processes, so while we are highly logical and love to solve problems, we might just come out of left field with a solution.   We like to think alone, so sometimes you don’t see us coming.  I feel like I LIVE to solve problems and I love it.   Yoda would say the force is strong in this one.

So as a problem solver, I have a highly developed skill that I think should be a requirement for anyone who is in charge of solving problems as his job.  I mean, if you are getting paid to fix stuff and make things better for people, you really ought to be good at solving problems.   I think we have a bunch of non-problem solving people in Congress.  More on that in another post that will probably be more humorous.

Seriously, here’s the only way we are going to fix all the broken stuff in this country: we have to correctly identify the problems and stay focused on finding a solution.   That seems like common sense to me, but apparently it is more difficult than I thought.   We seem to get sidetracked on everything but what we really should be talking about and we create new problems while we think we are working on the real problem.   See the problem here?

For example…if I am thinking about this problem of whether or not we want REFUGEES coming into our country…I want to pull my hair out as I listen to all the crazy dialogue about it.

Here is the situation:  Some people are being tortured and abused in their country by people who are very bad and who have managed to get power. Now those who are seeking refuge from a horrible life need a safe place to live.  The US has traditionally been very helpful to people who are underdogs and need a hand.   We like to do the right thing.  I love that about us.  I don’t think you will find many Americans who will say that we should not try to help refugees.   Certainly the majority of Americans, if asked. would say “Yes, these refugees deserve humanitarian aid so that they can be safe.”

Now here is the real problem:  We can’t agree about HOW to help these refugees. Some of us who are more naturally compassionate than others want to bring them all in and pay their bills for them.   Some of us who are clearly black and white thinkers know that there is a chance that some of them might be terrorists posing as refugees so they can easily get in the country and plan some kind of attack.   And most of us are somewhere in the middle.

Here is where we are messing up:  We stopped thinking about what the refugees need.  We are screaming at each other and calling each other names because we don’t agree about what to do.   And we have stopped talking about ideas and solutions, and we act like we only have two choices: let them all in or keep them all out.  Now we are just judging each other as either nice or evil based on what we think about Refugee Immigration, and we have lost sight of the fact that we are some of the smartest, most resourceful people on this planet, and if we can’t figure out a plan to help these refugees, then no one can.    And by HELP, I mean provide them with a safe place to live and get themselves together.    Did I say in the US?   Did I say lets pay all of their bills?   No.  But it might be possible.  But I don’t know because I can’t hear any good ideas because I only hear stupid arguments that are focused on making whoever we disagree with look stupid.  Some of our lawmakers have egos so big they couldn’t hear anyone else’s ideas even if they had bullhorns in their ears.

Hey, here’s an idea: is there any reason Guantanamo couldn’t become the 21st century Ellis Island?   It is not on US soil.  It is close by.  It is set up to receive and house people.  Could we fix it up?  Put in a few playgrounds for the kids?  Set up a school?   Install a vetting office that could check out all these people and then clear them to come to the US?  This might be the most far-fetched idea anyone has presented, but I am trying to offer ideas.   Congress should be brainstorming together, not just storming mad at each other. We need ideas, Congress.   We need problem solvers, not only debaters.  We need creativity, not stubbornness.   Lose the egos.   This is not a conservative or liberal issue.

Make a list of all of the options:  I’m not an expert in this area, but I know that people need a safe place to live.  Congress can come up with a list of options. And they can LISTEN to each option, and do some real homework and get some factual data before they start calling the people who suggested it evil or selfish or stupid.  That goes for EVERYONE.  And for an extra nice touch, anyone who says something unfounded or not helpful or belittling to someone who is offering an idea could be fined $100 to be spent on REFUGEES.   They can debate the options on their merit – how effectively those options will help the refugees without compromising our safety.    Then Congress can vote.   And we will live with their vote.  And it will be a lot easier to live with a vote that was made by 535 people who weren’t accusing each other of being evil and stupid but who considered a lot of great ideas and chose one.

The problem is not the problem.   In this case, the problem is pretty clear.   We got some people who need some help.   Americans are good people, and a majority of us want to step up.   We can solve that problem, but not until we focus on IT, and not each other.   The good news is that there is always a solution to any problem.   There really is.  The tough news is that in a Representative Republic sometimes we have to accept solutions we don’t agree with.   And that is hard to do when we don’t respect the people we have solving our problems.   I don’t know about you, but I don’t respect any of the legislators who are close-minded mudslingers who care more about “winning” this debate than helping the US remain safe while helping refugees.   Explore all the options, factually debate them and pick a winner.

That is just common sense.  And, it IS that simple.   And if anyone says that this is not how government works, then we got another problem.  This is EXACTLY how government should work.   And we need to demand that it does.