Useless Lives
November 4, 2019
President John Adams
Dear President Adams,
In all the letters written to you and the other Founders, Signers and Framers, I tried to keep you updated on what is going on in this country that you founded. I also hope to make a point that we should be able to learn from your insights, hopes and aspirations for this country and to learn from the mistakes of the past. Finally, what I have learned is that although times have changed and advances have been made, in reality some things never change and the adage that history repeats itself is something which we should always keep in mind. This is evident in the quote below which has been attributed to you.
“In my many years, I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress.”
Wow, President Adams please tell us how you really feel! I have heard many people insult and joke about lawyers, but you really did a job on Congress. If you felt that way about the 138 members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in your day just imagine what it would be like today with 535 members of both houses? In your eyes that would be a truly huge waste of humanity.
President Adams, I have to report that many people today pretty much feel the same way you did back then. Polls taken a few months ago in August show that Congress has an approval rating of about 17%. What makes this even worse, Congressional approval ratings hasn’t hit 30% in over ten years. It seems to be a spiraling downward trend which unless things change it will continue that way since Congress doesn’t appear to have learned from their mistakes. I have always said there is much to learn from history and from the wisdom of you President Adams along with the other Founders.
Maybe we can all take a lesson from this quote of yours, and take a step back before the 2020 election and take a good look at the accomplishments or lack thereof of our Representatives and weed out the “useless.”
Although your words Mr. President may seem harsh, politics is not a game for the faint of heart. Imagine, with one simple statement you managed to make lawyers look good!
Thank you for your time President Adams and I look forward to writing to you again soon.
Sincerely,
Andrew DeMarco
Pen Pals from the Past 