Reason lacking

As a 28-year veteran of the fire service I’ve seen my share of blazes. I assure you it’s incredibly stressful to be the first officer on the scene. Knowing more help is on the way is comforting, but not knowing exactly when it will arrive leaves firefighters with one option: do something to keep the fire from becoming worse.

Inaction is disastrous.

I applaud those offering solutions at the Capitol, like the members of the Step Up

Oklahoma coalition. Sure,

I still have questions about the plan. However, the fact there was buy-in from a diverse group of legislators and business leaders tells me there was an attempt at reason. Unfortunately, some legislators run on a platform that causes them to throw common sense into the fire. As a result, we are left with extreme partisanship, factions within parties, and a state where we cannot take care of business. Extremism kept the bill from passing, and now we’re stepping back and watching our problems intensify.

Oklahoma is in a tug of war where the lesser side can make the game last forever. It’s exhausting for the entire state. We need more common sense to move Oklahoma in the right direction, or we can just stand back and watch the inferno.

Scott Van Horn, Oklahoma City