Can't we All Just Sit Together?

When I first heard this idea I thought, "Have we lost our minds?" Have we gone back to kindergarten? Okay all you elected officials, hold onto one each other's hands as we cross the street. The idea of having an integrated seating plan makes more sense than one might think upon first hearing the idea. Many votes break down along party lines because folks are frequently like sheep, going along with their neighbors, even when they are wrong.

Remember the paper that we got handed in elementary school? The one that the teacher told us to "Read all the instructions first." If I remember correctly, the first few things it said were, "Write your name in the upper left hand corner, put today's date under it, draw a triangle in the upper right hand corner", etc. and it went on to instruct us to poke three holes in the top of the page, fold the page in half and then unfold it, and various other things. Near the end it said, "Get up and walk around your desk" The very last instruction was to disregard all of the instructions except the last one, sit quietly and fold your hands on the desk.

Virtually everyone went along with the crowd, overlooking the teacher's word, in favor of deeds. When everyone around you is screwing up, it becomes hard to think for yourself and make good decisions. Perhaps by not allowing parties to sit together, we could encourage them to think for themselves and follow the rules. Instead of letting our representatives sit in cliques, mixing them may lead to change that the public could not inspire. By mixing parties up and spreading them out around a more divers group of elected officials, perhaps they can learn to listen a bit more and consider their ideas as valid.

Perhaps if we allow adults to act like spoiled brats, treating them like spoiled brats is the best course of action. Teachers learn to design seating charts that help all of their students to be heard and to excel. They often split up the cliques and separate the bullies from one another. As our representatives become more and more insular, speaking only to those who agree with them, we need to find better ways to get them to see the whole picture. We all need to work together and find ways to see that there is more that unites us than tears us apart.