The following was written by my 11 year old son, Gawain.  Hopefully our Presidential candidates find this and read it, because it is a message that needs to be heard by all of us.

How can you promote Americanism or love of country?

You can promote Americanism or love of country by practicing or doing things such as flying the American flag, honoring the pledge, and letting people practice their religion. There are more ways but for now, you will see the importance of these three ways.

Fly an American flag. The American flag is very important. It represents us; not us as in you and me, us as in the whole country. A living country. It represents all of the United States of America. Flying it shows that you love and care about the country. The flag is also something of a symbol of hope. The country will still be here and alive as long as one American flag is still flying. Francis Scott Key, the writer of the National Anthem, was being held captive in the War of 1812. He thought that the battle was lost, but when he looked, he saw the American flag still standing. He knew that we were still fighting and that there was still hope. This is only one way to show love of country.

Another way to promote Americanism is to honor the Pledge of Allegiance. The pledge is like a promise to our country. It means that we are one nation. We are undividable. We cannot be broken. Threats are plaguing the nation. Bad things are happening. Isis, for one, and then there is the crisis with addiction also. We need to be good Americans now, more than ever. We need to work together. Some people don’t even know where to start. Honoring and living by the Pledge of Allegiance is as good a place as any. It reminds us that we need to work together and love our country. We need to be one nation under God. We need to be indivisible. We need to have liberty and justice for all.

One more way to promote Americanism is to let people have their religion. Religion is an important thing. Other people let you believe what you believe, so let them believe what they believe. whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or many other religions. Let them have that religion, like we have ours. The pilgrims, the reason America was found and colonized, came here for the freedom to have their religion without being
punished. Don’t destroy the reason we are, and have this great country.

These are some of the many ways you can show Americanism and love for your country. There are many more. There are lots of things you could do to show love for the country. So I suggest that you get out there and do  them.

On Wednesday, during a Special Session, we authorized a task force to work on legislation to address the growing opiate addiction crisis in NH. We heard speeches chastising us for “feel good” legislation, and passing this just so that we can say “we did something”. We also heard that the situation is hopeless, and that what people need is hope. I get that. Nonetheless, this task force should give us hope. Will they come up with solutions? I have no idea. Nonetheless, this task force has a better chance than the normal legislative process, so let’s encourage them rather than throw stones.

Normally, bills are directed to any relevant policy committees, and then if there is fiscal impact, to Finance and/or Ways and Means. Let me give you a practical example of what that means based on what could happen in my committee (Transportation). Consider a bill to create a violation for not slowing down on a state highway when there is a disabled car in the shoulder. Here is what could happen:

Transportation – This committee decides that is good policy and should move forward, votes to pass.
Criminal Justice and Public Safety – Because a violation has been created, this committee hears the bill next. They could reject it based on the penalty, even if they like the policy. Instead, let’s assume that they amend the bill to establish a fine and also to create an education program to warn drivers about the new law.
Finance – Because of the previous committee’s action, there is now expense associated with the bill. Even if Finance likes the bill, if it isn’t clear how to pay for it, they can reject the bill.
Senate – Let’s say that all the above succeeds. the bill now goes to the Senate where it has yet another opportunity to fail.

That is a lot of opportunities for failure for a bill. Whether you’re talking about software systems development, manufacturing, or even complex military operations, it is good practice to assemble cross-functional teams to make sure that a good idea is implemented correctly. You can imagine how many areas of policy laws relating to drug abuse could touch (Health and Human Services, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Judiciary, etc.). The task force puts all those folks in one room at the outset, so that they can draft bills that will avoid all those potential stumbling blocks throughout the process. This is the best hope for finding workable solutions. Will they succeed? I have no idea. The drug epidemic is a huge problem, and a tough nut to crack. I do know that this bipartisan task force, with the policy leaders from all those committees in both the House and Senate, is the best hope for doing something that works.

Rep. Steven Smith