On March 20-21, I attended the New Jersey Model Congress at Rider University. It was a two day conclusion of a learning process that started a few months prior. In our AP Government & Politics Class, we are assigned to write a bill as if we were real Congressmen and Congresswomen. These bills would be submitted, and then debated like real bills at Model Congress with other classes. We learned plenty of the legislative process in AP Government, and experienced what would be considered only a preview of what the real legislative process is at Model Congress. I came to a realization which inspired me to write this article: the legislative process in the United States is very complicated. While many may scream for a change to the prohibition of marijuana or legalization of same-sex marriage, they need to be a bit more patient. Yes, their voice should be heard and shake the foundation of government to bring upon change, but our legislative process is a slow one for a reason. Something that many unanimously can agree with; such as helping schools and ending child trafficking, cannot become law in a day. "Rome wasn't built in a day" comes to mind.

Firstly, we must look at our Founding Fathers and see why they built a system this complex. Obviously, news did not travel as fast as it does today. This shows that issues would take a long time to be solved, as it takes a long time to do the proper research and see the issues at hand. The largest issue would be to prevent another tyrannical government as the British had over the colonial United States. A balance of powers between the three branches of government (executive, judicial, and legislative) slows the process of legislation becoming law. The power checking is a huge issue. The legislature must keep the President and Supreme Court in mind while writing laws. If the President does not agree with a law, he may veto it. If the law is believed to be Unconstitutional, the Supreme Court may strike it down. Those are the ultimate roadblocks. Another issue includes our current two party system, with views on two different spectrums there needs to be some sort of compromise in your bill, taking away many of its original intentions. If you can guarantee the President will not veto a law and you are following the guideline of the Constitution, you must worry about getting it through legislature. First, the bill is drafted by a Congressman and their staffers. Then the bill is brought to committee. If the Congressmen is not in the party or friends with the committee chair, they may have problems getting their bill even talked about. A bill will be introduced and debated in committee. Often the bill is amended , meaning that wording is changed. If your original intention was to ban all sports in the park, the amendments may water down the bill to ban only certain sports in the park. Once the bill passes committee, it goes to the overall floor of that House of Congress, where you need to get the Chair to put it up in the order, it gets debated, amended, etc. This is a process that waters down bills and will take months. Most of the time, that bill never sees the light of day. Enough of a history lesson, I'll just tell you how I learned how slow the process can be.

I wrote a bill regarding cutting foreign aid. I knew this bill would be great to debate, and looked forward to fighting for it. I learned while writing it that your bill must define the language in it. If it does not, you will be torn apart in committee before it even reaches the floor. I saw bills get shot down in my committee (which passed most bills) because a few words were not defined well. What is foreign aid? Does it include military? What about a conflict? These were questions I needed to address. The bill must be without a loophole from a poorly defined word. When I brought it to committee, I had to have plenty of research to argue my points. In a real legislature, these studies and research can take months, sometimes years. There were lots of bills that needed to be discussed, and thank goodness for a few people being absent, because some people would have had to do some "politicking" to get their bill up the order to be talked about. My bill passed committee, though some tough debating was present, 9-5. I was proud. But with over three hundred bills in Model Congress, only about 16 would be talked about in the overall sessions. I did my best politicking, backing the House Chair's bill in committee, talking to him, but my bill never made it to the overall floor.

I should have been angry. I did favors, practically drove the Chairman's bill through committee. Instead of being angry, I was glad. Not for my bill technically failing, but because our legislative process is slow. I want change as much as the next teen, but we need to learn things aren't black and white. Our Founding Fathers made this crazy, complex system. I never told you exactly why, and now here comes the bomb: to prevent change. "What?," you must be thinking. Didn't your teachers tell you about the Elastic Clause of the Constitution, allowing our Country to change? Did they lie? No, they are right, but extreme change is prevented. America was, and continues to be, a diverse place. Different interests from different races, religions, and regions must all be taken into account. If one side attempts extreme change, others' freedoms are threatened. If change happens quickly, tyranny can happen. Many rulings by the Supreme Court to make a law Unconstitutional involve a process that may take years of battles from the lowest courts all the way up. Imagine if laws were passed rapidly, the Constitution would become null and void. In order to protect freedom, we must slow change. Change will come, and you can help it happen. Keep protesting, attend public meetings, run for public office, and learn more about the legislative process and events around you. The roadblock preventing change is a inactive society, not a slow legislature.