On my annual tour of Iowa’s 99 counties, I visited the Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley in Waterloo, Iowa. This was during our last Congressional state work period.
I held a Q&A with the young Iowans who participate in that after-school program.
We talked about the importance of those programs, advice on how to be a good citizen and [the celebration of] African American History Month.
I was impressed by the students and appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from them.
I encourage Iowans to volunteer with this organization or any civic organization in need of such volunteers.
Giving your time to others helps keep our communities strong, and if there’s anything you can do to benefit the next generation, you should do it.
Besides this example of the Boys and Girls Club, I make a practice of going to about ten or twelve high schools a year and there’s always a couple lessons that I’m asked about: how to be a good citizen [and] what advice would you give to us?
So, I try to explain to these young people that the reason I go around to meet [them] at high schools is because they never come to my open town meetings. I never get anybody under 18 years of age to do that.
I like to tell them that I consider representative government a two-way street.
Those of us elected are one half of it, our constituents are the other half of it.
If you’re going to have representative government, you’ve got to know what’s on the constituents’ minds, and the best way to do that is to have dialog face-to-face with your constituents.
Obviously, it’s not the only way you get opinions, but it’s the best way to get that opinion.
And then they say, “Do you have any advice for us?” I say, in America, you’ve got a chance to either govern or be governed. You have a chance to rule or be ruled. And I hope as young people, you choose the course of helping govern.
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