THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411110010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Instead of term ``limits'' we should have longer terms for the legislators and the president so they could have time to learn to work together and maybe get something accomplished rather than having to run around raising money and campaigning all the time just to save their jobs.
Back when the Constitution was written, change came more slowly, and a two-year congressional term was enough time to get something accomplished. But nowadays we live at a much faster pace and it might take six or eight years to get something accomplished; so my suggestion is to give the legislators longer terms, not shorter ones.
The assumption I make here (which goes against the conventional wisdom) is that the faster we live and work, the longer it must take our leaders to respond to our needs, in the same way that a speeding train needs more time to change direction than a slow one.
In terms of the vision we want our leaders to have (moral or financial), the longer their terms are, the more secure they will be and the more they will be able to look into the distant future and make good plans rather than always pandering to our fears and short-term financial worries.
If we want to survive as a nation, we need to look further into the future - 50, 100, 200 years - so that our development proceeds along the lines of imagination and calm reflection and not solely along the lines of competition and conflict.
Longer terms for the legislators and the president would help.
DAVID WIGGINS
Virginia Beach, Nov. 7, 1994 by CNB