Fifteen years ago, Conan O'Brien said farewell to the Tonight Show. And on that final show, he urged his fans, and especially young people, not to become cynical in light of his treatment by NBC. His words have stayed with me to this day, and I agree with him. Cynicism accomplishes nothing. But having said that, I cannot help but worry that young people are increasingly contracting the cynicism virus, and I can't help but believe that they have caught this infection from our elected leaders.
I am thinking of the efforts by former President Biden's inner circle's efforts to shield his diminished capacity. I am also thinking about President Trump's disregard for ethical guidelines on conflicts of interest as he uses the Presidency to enrich himself. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's threats to prosecute CNN for reporting on an app that tracks ICE deployments comes to mind as well. I could go on.
The infection is not confined to the federal level. Recently, the Ohio Legislature passed a budget bill that Governor Mike DeWine signed into law on June 30. To call the bill a "budget" bill is a bit of a misnomer. It does address the budget, but it is an absolute smorgasbord of unrelated policy enactments. For example, it includes a definition of "male" and "female." It prohibits government entities from placing menstrual products in the men's restroom of a men's bathroom. I am not making that up. What a relief. This has been a constant concern every time I use a urinal. But the fact that this is solution in search of a problem isn't the issue. And there are numerous other examples of extraneous provisions in the bill. The most egregious extraneous provision is a little nugget slipped in at the last minute that puts e-mails and text messages between Ohio legislators off limits to public inspection.
The Ohio Constitution says this: "No bill shall contain more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title." The title of this bill is "Make state operating appropriations for FY 2026-27." So, if anyone can connect the dots between tampons in men's rooms or legislators' e-mails and state appropriations, please let me know. The purpose of the single subject provision is to avoid "logrolling." That is, one legislator ought not get votes for his or her bill by including goodies that benefit another legislator. The rule should also ensure that any proposal gets a hearing and proper consideration. As this Budget Bill (and it happens every year) demonstrates, any number of unrelated provisions can be slipped in under the radar. So, the Budget Bill blatantly violates the Ohio Constitution. But the General Assembly and Governor DeWine ignored that inconvenient truth.
The result of all of this is that a provision completely repugnant to the public's right to know is now enshrined in Ohio law, having been slipped in without a hearing or any opportunity for public comment. And the fact that this unquestionably violates the Ohio Constitution seems not to bother the General Assembly or the Governor.
I don't want to be infected with the cynicism virus, nor do I want my kids or grandkids to succumb to it. But when our elected officials are carriers, it becomes increasingly more difficult.
