Mr. Keating Goes to Washington

William Keating on Wednesday swore an oath to represent the people of the 10th Congressional District, including us here on the Vineyard, in our federal government. Say what you will about this moment in time — the worst recession, the most vicious partisanship, the biggest government, the least effective government — it all has been said before, in fact, it’s been said since the beginning.

Congressman Keating takes his place in the legislative body that was never imposed on the people it serves — it is a governing compromise of us, by us and for us, after all — and therefore we have ever argued the details, often with rancor and bitterness. As our governing document, the Constitution, was being hashed out, “chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state,” according to our National Archives. Still today, chief among the concerns of the newly elected One Hundred and Twelfth Congress are whether our federal government is too big and powerful, and how many seats each state will have in the Congress — this latter issue especially concerning here, where Massachusetts will lose a seat and representation of the Vineyard may be diluted again.

Yet the Constitution itself stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship, compromise and the triumph of hope over cynicism. General George Washington, the Father of the Country, very nearly did not attend the Constitutional Convention; he worried about lending his reputation to a gathering perhaps doomed to failure. Yet his support ultimately saw the Constitution ratified; ever since then, we the people agreed to give federal government power to collect taxes, borrow money, declare war and argue among ourselves about how we do it all.

The legacy is little changed. From Washington, through John F. Kennedy, whose freshman offices have become Mr. Keating’s own three-room suite in the Cannon Building, and to now, government by the people has required determined leadership despite so many reasons to give up.

We wish for Mr. Keating the wisdom and courage to filter out the distractions, choose to focus on what is meaningful, and to be a leader, legislator and statesman.