Moral of the Story: Congressman Billy Long Doesn't Care about Your Concerns

I have long suspected it. Congress uses document management software to further the gap between members of Congress and their constituents. I first assumed this when Claire McCaskill answered one of the concerns I addressed with her through an e-mail. The return correspondence had nothing to do with what I wrote her, but it did pick up on a keyword I used.

Document management systems use optical character recognition and other technologies to scan mail and e-mails. They are capable of finding key words and then generating a form letter in return. That's clearly what is happening in Congress. Congressmen like Billy Long could care less what their constituents think.

This was further confirmed as multiple members of the Ozark community who are fighting against the implementation of the International Baccalaureate at Ozark High School. They hoped since Long said he was committed to returning local control of the schools to the states and local communities, he would agree turning more control of our schools to an international body with a globalist anti-American agenda. Rather Long played it safe--afraid to rock the boat with voters. While this shouldn't be any surprise, the members of the community were a little surprised with the responses they received from Congressman Long's office was the exact same letter.

Ronnie Wood first shared the e-mail he received with the group fighting IB. What was funny about Long's response is that the e-mail spent time explaining what the IB was--considering Wood's lead in opposing the IB, it was the first clue Billy Long didn't care what Wood had to say. Rather, Long felt it safer to send a form letter that upset the least amount of voters. It really shows how little Long plans to lead after his heavy rhetoric promising just the opposite.

Dear MSG White,

Thank you for contacting me regarding education and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). I appreciate the benefit of your views.

The IBO was founded in 1968 to offer educational opportunities across international borders. The program encourages international-mindedness through the promotion of secondary language development, positive attitudes toward learning, and stresses the need for children to develop research, critical thinking, and reflection skills. IBO reaches around 930,000 students in 141 nations.

America's education system does not currently meet the standards that we demand and expect for our children. Our schools should be developing young minds in foundational disciplines such as mathematics, science, English, and history. These areas of learning are important for a child's future happiness by allowing them to successfully integrate as a productive member of society. Our schools should promote our unique American culture which unites us all on the basis of a shared ideology of personal liberty, economic freedom, and equality before the law. America's children should be able to stand firmly on the traditions and knowledge of our past as they shape a bright future for our nation.

However, I also believe that control over our children's education should be in the hands of local parents and teachers. A one-size fits all education program handed down by federal bureaucrats or Congressional decree will never succeed in providing the kind of education that our children need. The educational needs of a child in the Missouri's Seventh District are not the same as the needs of a child in New York or California. Whether IBO's curriculum is taught in our local schools is an issue that should be left up to the local School Board and individual parents, not Members of Congress.

Again, thank you for contacting me on this issue. Hearing the views of all Missourians gives me the opportunity to better understand how important issues could impact the people of our state and the future interests of the nation. I will closely monitor this issue if it comes before the U.S. House of Representative and in that context your views are very helpful.

For additional information regarding current legislation and my representation of the Seventh District, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.long.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Billy Long
Member of Congress

So as you can see a federal one size fits all education plan doesn't work for him, but he doesn't seem nearly as upset over a one size fits all international education plan that has an anti-American agenda, is backed by the UN, and has ties to the radical left.

So Ronnie White forwarded this e-mail. Within the hour, another member of the group, Rod Hunt, commented that he had received the exact same e-mail on the IB hat White received.

Dear Rod,

Thank you for contacting me regarding education and the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). I appreciate the benefit of your views.

The IBO was founded in 1968 to offer educational opportunities across international borders. The program encourages international-mindedness through the promotion of secondary language development, positive attitudes toward learning, and stresses the need for children to develop research, critical thinking, and reflection skills. IBO reaches around 930,000 students in 141 nations.

America's education system does not currently meet the standards that we demand and expect for our children. Our schools should be developing young minds in foundational disciplines such as mathematics, science, English, and history. These areas of learning are important for a child's future happiness by allowing them to successfully integrate as a productive member of society. Our schools should promote our unique American culture which unites us all on the basis of a shared ideology of personal liberty, economic freedom, and equality before the law. America's children should be able to stand firmly on the traditions and knowledge of our past as they shape a bright future for our nation.

However, I also believe that control over our children's education should be in the hands of local parents and teachers. A one-size fits all education program handed down by federal bureaucrats or Congressional decree will never succeed in providing the kind of education that our children need. The educational needs of a child in the Missouri's Seventh District are not the same as the needs of a child in New York or California. Whether IBO's curriculum is taught in our local schools is an issue that should be left up to the local School Board and individual parents, not Members of Congress.


Again, thank you for contacting me on this issue. Hearing the views of all Missourians gives me the opportunity to better understand how important issues could impact the people of our state and the future interests of the nation. I will closely monitor this issue if it comes before the U.S. House of Representative and in that context your views are very helpful.

For additional information regarding current legislation and my representation of the Seventh District, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.long.house.gov.


Sincerely,

Billy Long
Member of Congress

Now Billy Long promised us he was going to Washington to serve us, but its obvious he could care less about what residents of Southwest Missouri are thinking as Long has decided to use the status quo document management software in the Capitol rather than consider the views of constituents and address those concerns. Of course all this might be different if you were to make a donation to Long's campaign. Then Long might actually read your letter and consider your concerns.