What kind of people do we send to Congress?
Before you answer that let me ask it another way… what are most politicians? Now, be nice.
The answer is, “Lawyers”.
And, what are lawyers trained do to?
They are trained to litigate, right?
And what is another name for litigate?
It is “arguing”, and more precisely arguing to win whether or not they are right.
So, it is any wonder that we have a Congress comprised of people that are constantly arguing and fighting amongst themselves?
Irina is not a lawyer or a career politician. Rather, Irina’s life and experience has taught her not only the importance of getting along, but also how to sway people to get along and find common ground. What most of us do not know is that the primary function of a flight attendant is passenger safety. The fact that they bring us drinks and a little bag of peanuts is just a perk. Anyway, when you are over 30,000 feet in the air with a cabin filled with over 500 passengers of all walks of nature, you never know what it in store.
For example, one of her flights taking American Troops to Frankfurt, Germany, had an interesting mix of U.S. Soldiers on their way to Desert Storm, and a bunch of Hells Angels on their way to some sort of bikers convention or ride in Europe. There were at least 50 Soldiers and 50 Bikers in close quarters in the back of a “whale” (747). At the “point of no return” over the Atlantic Ocean these 2 groups had a little too much to drink and 2 of them decided to get into a bit of a shouting match. Of course, each of them had their own back-up men, which started to escalate the situation.
The male flight attendant grabbed the only 3 zip-tie restraints he could find and thought he was going to not only restrain the men with those little pieces of plastic, but by doing so also diffuse the situation. Irina, fast on her fee, discouraged him from trying that, and said she would handle the situation. She proceeded down the aisle towards the commotion, pushed her way through the rowdy crowd and got in between the 2 men.
Rather than yell at either side or try barking commands, she addressed them calmly. “Gentlemen, I need to explain the welcome that the Soldiers will likely find when we land in Frankfurt.” This was not Irina’s first trip taking Soldiers into battle, and she knew the American Soldiers were not going to receive a warm welcome. She proceeded to explain to the men that some of the Germans and other Europeans were not going to be friendly towards Americans. The bikers should also expect the same welcome when they reach their European destination.
Irina continued to explain that the U.S. Military and their families and some tourists have been targeted by the Europeans (or Middle-Easterners in Europe) who knew they were Americans. Bombs were being placed under vehicles or things were being thrown in vehicles as they were driving by, or vehicles carrying Americans were being shot at, and Americans were being attacked on the streets at night. Consequently, the Military Command as well as the Airlines informed everyone to remove anything that identified them as an American and their uniforms had to be covered with civilian coats.
She further explained that the young soldiers were going off to war and some of them going into combat didn’t know if they would be returning home alive or intact. The Soldiers need to know that Americans appreciate what they are doing and what they will be going through so the rest of us can enjoy the liberties of our great country.
All of the sudden, the men started talking rather than yelling. They started, sharing personal stories, and they started to find common interests. The bikers started asking the soldiers for the addresses where they can receive packages. So instead of getting into a fist fight, they became friends and the rest of the flight ended up being very pleasant and safe without further incident.
So how does that relate to Irina going to Congress?
Do you really have to ask? We need someone who is willing and bold enough to step in the middle of the fighting, and bring some unity and sanity back into Congress so we can start creating and passing legislation that will actually solve some of the problems our Nation faces.