Editorial: Listening now means better citizens later

Staff

Published Tuesday, February 28, 2006

We find the news of a 14-year-old from Minneapolis standing Monday with two DFL state lawmakers who heeded his call for action refreshing. Their resulting bill would double fines for people caught talking on cell phones while breaking another traffic law.

Donny Harder, Rep. Dan Larson of Bloomington and Sen. Scott Dibble of Minneapolis purposely avoided seeking an all-out ban on dialing and driving, knowing the Legislature is not ready to take a full step.

Harder said he was spurred into action by a near accident involving a car driven by his older sister and one operated by a gabbing driver.

“I'll be getting my learner's permit next year and I'd like the road to be safer,” he said.

Whether the measure gets passed or not is probably not as important as the fact that two legislators were willing to listen to a teen. Imagine the feelings of self-worth the young man now has because they've listened to him. He'll follow his bill through the political process and learn more about how things work. His friends will follow the bill. Perhaps they'll one day become politicians, or at least, informed voters. They'll know that their opinions do count.

We applaud the legislators for listening, and we hope to see bills which addresses the concerns of our young people.

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