A recent study shows that men tend to react to holiday shopping as if they were soldiers fighting in a war, or police putting down a riot . . . that is, with extreme stress, high blood pressure, accelerated heart rates.
Maybe that’s why I usually wait so long to do my Christmas shopping. It’s just not healthy.
So, here comes Christmas again and I’m still thinking about my gift list. At the very top of my list is something I wish all Americans had: the right to vote on their own laws.
Yes, what I want most for citizens in every state is to get what only 24 states offer: Voter initiative and referendum.
It’s no panacea. But it does enable “We the People” to nudge — even push — politicians. An amazing number of ballot measures in states with initiative rights have successfully reformed or limited government. Wouldn’t it be great to have that right everywhere?
I know, I know: Wishing for initiative and referendum everywhere is rather like wishing for World Peace. And yet . . . it’s not. We are Americans, and we can affect our own politics. We can tell our representatives that we simply won’t vote for them unless they pledge to give us legal rights to the initiative process.
Sure, world peace would be better. But we can’t control the world. We can, with effort, convince our very own elected politicians to give us a gift that, as they say, keeps on giving. It’s called initiative and referendum.
This is Common Sense. Happy Holidays. I’m Paul Jacob.