Congressman Visits Florida College

“It’s important as men and women of Christ, and as young people, that we be involved,” said congressman Adam Putnam speaking at Florida College chapel services on Monday, October 27.

Putnam, whose district covers part of Temple Terrace, was the youngest congressman elected in U.S. history at the time of his election in 2001. He is also chairman of the Republican Conference, making him the third highest-ranking member in his party.

He took the podium after the regular program and made an appeal to the student body to be actively engaged as citizens. “I’m not here to tell you how to vote,” he said. “Being involved is much bigger than a vote; that’s entry level citizenship.” He implored his young audience to get involved, not because they live in a representative democracy, but because “the issues…and challenges that are out there impact the faith.”

Putnam emphasized the unique skills and perspective that young people bring to politics. He humorously reflected on how, though many of those serving in congress lived through the Depression and served in World War II, “some of those same individuals couldn’t turn on a laptop if their life depended on it. Or they think a blackberry is what they put on their cornflakes in the morning. And yet they vote on those issues.”

“We need a variety of perspectives in public policy,” he said. Young people understand modern concepts like globalization. They understand technology—both its danger and its benefits. “Yours is a generation shaped by 9/11,” he said, “and shaped in a way that understands the need for service greater than yourself.”

Putnam confronted the temptation that many Christians feel to simply walk away from politics long tainted with corruption and dishonesty. “While many of us view politics with cynicism and pessimism, and the sense that it is tawdry and dirty,” he said, “it’s only as strong and as pure and as righteous as we make it.”

“If we sit out the fight and let someone else take our place,” he said, “then we get what we deserve in this system.”

Putnam concluded his comments with a quotation from John Adams: “We cannot guarantee success. We can do better; we can deserve it.”