What If

Athens, Greece is the birthplace of self-government known as democracy. Even though we call our system of government a democracy, it is, in fact, a republic. The difference being that the people do not make government decisions directly, but through elected representatives who speak for them in an authorized body.

Unlike Athens which allowed citizens to gather in the public square and select their leaders on the spot as well as make decisions about what laws or rules they would follow as a nation, the United States as well as Texas conduct our government by selecting representatives who are supposed to speak for us in Congress and state legislatures.

Often, I get to pondering on whether or not my elected state senator, congressman or state representative is truly reflecting my desires about how we should conduct our government. Among those things that make me ask “what if” is the legalization of marijuana, the outlawing of abortion and casino gambling.

I wonder if things would be different in Texas if the people of Texas had the opportunity to have a straight up vote on whether to legalize abortion, casino gambling or the legalization of recreational use of marijuana.

It seems that all three of these items are seen as favorable by a majority of Texans on several well-known polls that are regularly taken. It all makes me wonder “what if” we had a system like Athens when all citizens are required to stand up and state their choice of leaders and what issues they favor and the leaders had to reflect those choices.