Yes

by Erin Allen

Created on: July 17, 2007   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

The question should more rightly be asked, "When shouldn't outside groups be allowed to file ethics complaints against members of Congress?"

Congress members are there by our leave. The American public voted them in to make our country a better place. To bring our concerns, our thoughts and hopes to the law making government in order to fulfill OUR needs as citizens of the United States. We did not vote them into office to line their own pockets whilst they ignored the very people they were elected to protect.

And that is happening all too often of late. News stories are all over the newspapers, airwaves and internet about internal corruption in Congress. To err is human, but should we as Americans sit by and watch passively as our elected officials act in ways that we would not? Should we say nothing simply because we elected them and should trust that they know what they are doing? Of course not!

First, since we, the people elected them, they should be acting in our best interest, not in their own. If we do not agree with what they are doing, and the behavior they are engaging in is completely unethical, then it is our duty to stand up and say "Stop!"

Second, this country was founded by those who did just that. They saw corruption, they saw unethical behavior, and refused to stand for it. They stood up for their rights as free citizens and told "the powers that be" that they would not stand for it any more. Who are we to trample on those brave souls that came before us and say "oh well"? If we sit back and say nothing, we are spitting on the great legacy that was handed to us by those such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington.

Finally, this government is meant to be a system of checks and balances. Each branch was designed to check the actions of the others. However, when one branch breaks down and becomes lodged in a miasma of unethical behavior then the whole system can eventually break down. We as the citizens of the United States must see that this does not happen. If it requires outside groups to file formal complaints in order to root out the sources, then so be it.

It is our right after all...

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