Human curiosity about the idea that life might exist somewhere else in the universe has inspired scientists to search for intelligent life on Mars and beyond. We recently witnessed the Perseverance Rover touch down on the surface of Mars, and one goal of the mission is to determine if there is - or was - life on Mars.
Rather than focus effort and dollars on searching for life elsewhere, maybe we should support a mission to find intelligent life in the Louisiana Legislature, which opens its 2021 session today at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge?
* This legislative session begins with several controversial issues to be considered:
* Should marijuana be legalized or even decriminalized in the state?
* Should the minimum wage be raised from $7.25 an hour to $15.00 an hour gradually over the next few years?
* Should kindergarten be mandatory?
* Are changes needed in curtailing police tactics?
* Should social media be regulated?
* Does Louisiana’s election system need to be restructured?
The fact that the legislature is controlled by Republicans turns the passage of many of these issues into a longshot.
The crusade to legalize or decriminalize marijuana has turned into a heated political debate with many Republicans opposing the change, which is interesting because one of the most basic fundamentals of conservative ideology is less government intervention and more power to the individual. Shouldn’t the freedom to smoke pot be a conservative issue?
Concern over the burden raising the minimum wage would have on many small businesses is legit, but the economy survived the minimum wage increase to $7:25 in 2009.
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee have no minimum wage, while California has the highest minimum wage at $14.00 an hour. In the city of Portland, OR, the minimum wage will increase from $13.25 to $14.00 an hour on July 1st, and even tipped service industry workers receive the minimum wage along with tips.
In general, Republicans have opposed increasing the minimum wage; and there is the expectation that the opposition will continue.
Considering the overwhelming number of young people who are committing brazen crimes, maybe mandatory kindergarten would have a positive impact on the lives of the youngest people in the state, but mandatory kindergarten will not have a positive impact if parents refuse to parent and reinforce what a child is learning in kindergarten.
There have been enough stories in the news to indicate that reviewing police tactics would be a good thing, but we should not trust the motives of the politicized government when it comes to the best police tactics. Criminal charges and lawsuits should motivate police departments to make sure the tactics they use are effective and legal.
The idea of the government restricting social media should scare every American, especially when the legislative branches of government are driven by politics. Free speech does not mean protecting only the speech one agrees with.
If the state considers any significant changes in voting rules it should pay attention to the negative consequences voting changes can have on a state’s economy in the state of Georgia.
There are individual exceptions; but collectively, the Louisiana Legislature is a political beast the lives off of attention-grabbing controversy that gives each legislator the opportunity to champion a cause that will help them get re-elected.
One indisputable reality about politics today is that getting elected and re-elected is the ultimate goal that supersedes serving the people who put the politicians in office.
As we see our tax dollars used to answer the question: Is there intelligent life on other planets - let’s first search for intelligent life in the Louisiana Legislature.
