On November 21, 2005 from 5:30 to 7:00pm in the Littlefield Recital Hall of the Arnold Bernhard Center, the University of Bridgeport was honored by the visit of our fourth congressional district representative to Congress for Connecticut, Christopher Shays. He was very pleased that the university had invited him to deliver a lecture to the campus community entitled, “Who do you listen to: your constituents, your leaders, or your conscience?”This lecture, like the rest in the Dr. Walter Levine lecture series, was intended to give the students of UB the motivation to strive towards different goals in life. This one was no different as the congressman provided a valuable insight to the workings of modern politics. Not only that, but as the lecture implied, the thin line between following the views of your constituents or your own feelings.
Congressman Shays has had a long and exciting career since his election as fourth congressional representative to Congress for Connecticut in 1987. As a moderate Republican, he has been in at the helm for several recent events such as the Iraq crisis and even assisted in heading up the 9/11 Commission, shortly after the disaster, fulfilling his role on the National Security Subcommittee. His views on the war in Iraq and the 9/11 attacks have very much remained in synch with his Republican beliefs and thus, have resulted in him following the party line on such issues. This is a clear example that a congressman cannot please all of his constituents, but must trust in his own feelings to make a decision that satisfies his conscience and hopefully the majority of his constituents.
As a long time resident of the city of Bridgeport, Shays has always been a great supporter of environmental issues, and it showed in his many mentions of his efforts in thereof. Particularly, he has showed much interest in improving Bridgeport’s parks system.
Throughout his long career as Congressman, Shays has sat on many committees to fight for what he and his constituents believe in. Currently, he sits on the Financial Services and Homeland Security committees, and it is his belief that America must still strive to restore order to the recently freed Iraq.
Putting political favoritism aside for the moment, Chris Shays is an inspiration to anyone going into a political career no matter what his or her political point of view is. The title of the lecture suits it nicely. One must always consider both the views of oneself and of people who depend on you to make a right decision when handling delicate situations.