What the Hill?
October 8, 2010
What could a young and idealistic college student want more than scholarship money? An internship worth bragging about, if you’re like me. I don’t mean just any internship, I mean one you could only get in “the heart of the free world”: Capitol Hill. There I stood, so small in the shadows of governmental America, towering over me in the form of white marble columns and a statue called “Freedom.” This was it. This was the big league.
I can tell you this, my friends, that working on the Hill has led me to question both my fellow citizens and Congress rather than follow both with the bright-eyed and bush-tailed faith I once had. Sometimes I sit and shake my head while watching the House of Representatives argue over what seems like a common sense issue. Sometimes I get calls from people who have no idea what they are yelling about, but know they are pissed as hell. This is not a blog about my descent into cynicism, but an attempt at understanding for the sake of my own sanity. What better place to start than with recent legislation regarding “crush” videos.
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” James Madison and I go way back, back to when I sat in AP Gov/Pol and first learned what it meant to be an “American.” Among other propagandize phrases of liberty and justice, being an American means having the freedom to do as you please under the First Amendment, for better or worse. In April 2010, the Supreme Court ruled the First Amendment protects the snuff film-esque phenomena known as “crush” films. In essence, these films depict people, usually women in heels, literally crushing small animals to death under their feet.
One of my days on the Hill was spent receiving phone calls from constituents concerning H.R. 5566, the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010. The legislation was passed September 28, 2010 to outlaw the commerce of such films under the claim that it violates animal rights laws. My disgust with these videos and people who endorse violent acts against animals (cough Michael Vick) pushed me to lobby my own congressman and amazingly, it worked. Here is where I question my fellow Americans: why crush a kitten? What sort of sick pleasure do these people derive from watching something so appalling? Have you never seen the “Surprised Kitten” video on YouTube? I am not so naive; I know “distasteful” expression exists— one person’s disgust may be another’s turn on (“2 Girls 1 Cup,” anyone?). So who do we turn to? Our Congress, who are supposed to express the will of the people.
Here we see a beautiful example of our government at work; the judicial branch rules one way (which, by the way, was an 8-to-1 vote in favor of the idea that these films are not a violation of animal rights laws, claiming that the First Amendment protects even “distasteful” expression), the legislative branch combats their ruling to outlaw the videos and we see the balance of power working as our forefathers intended. And, to top it all off, from the time the Supreme Court ruled in April 2010, it took merely four months to pass this bill. Absolutely breathtaking.
So it seems my idealism and faith in the government is reaffirmed, right? This time, yes, I was moved by how swiftly Congress moved to outlaw this horrifying practice. My morals were reaffirmed and legally strengthened thanks to Congress. But, as I said before, amazingly it worked, and my morals were reinforced. America is a country with such a vast belief system that of course there will be anger from one side of the political and ideological spectrum to the other, but for now, I consider this a win for America.
In the next few months, I hope to touch on issues I see weekly working in the House of Representatives, both politically, socially, and morally. If you want to know where a particular piece of legislation is, leave a comment, or check out www.opencongress.org. For now, stay smart, America.