“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves …” – Cassius in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”

When state legislators reached the final few days of this year’s regular session, patience began to wear thin among some of them.

This is to be expected when you have two political parties diametrically opposed on most political issues. A little mudslinging at the other side is not unusual.

All the same, when you have one party holding a vast majority of the seats in both chambers of the legislature, as is the case in Alabama, sometimes legislators will receive a bit of muddy friendly fire.

After all, when something does not go as anticipated, you can blame the minority party’s legislators only so much since their powers to kill or slow down legislation are somewhat limited.

This means if you are Republican legislator in Alabama and the bill you filed does not reach the finish line before the end of the session either the people in your own party did not like it or did not see it as a major priority.

Such was the case with two bills in this year’s legislative session – one originating in the House of Representatives and the other in the Senate. Each bill passed in one chamber but not in the other.

The House passed a bill requiring all state agencies and state employees “to observe and implement” President Donald Trump’s executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

It also directed state and local entities to “(m)ake reasonable efforts” to update any existing materials that have the body of water off our southern coast labeled as the Gulf of Mexico unless it would impose some kind of unreasonable burden to carry this out.

On another floor of the State House, the Senate passed a bill that would require public schools to broadcast or stage a live performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at least once a week.

In terms of performative patriotism, the Senate bill might have one-upped the House bill as the Senate bill would have taken the extra step of adding the national anthem requirement as an amendment to the Alabama Constitution, pending ratification by voters.

If it had passed, it would have served as one more example of why the Alabama Constitution is widely recognized as the world’s longest constitution. It would have been yet another amendment with no relation to defining the powers and limitations of Alabama’s government and its citizens.

So what happened to these bills? Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, said he was prepared to introduce the House bill for a full Senate vote as long as the House brought up the Senate bill for a final vote at the same time, according to reporting by AL.com’s John Sharp.

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told Sharp he was unaware of the reciprocal relationship between the two bills mentioned by Gudger.

Whether or not there was some kind of gentleman’s agreement with these bills, what is apparent is that the passage of either bill was not seen as important to either the House’s or the Senate’s leadership. Other legislation took precedent as time ran short on the session.

Frankly, the leadership made the correct decision. It was not important for these to pass.

These types of bills tend to proliferate when one party is in charge and particular legislators want to show voters they are passing laws that are easily understandable and make voters feel good without having to think too much. Whether these bills actually make government function better or improve citizens’ lives is beside the point.

I have no problem with “The Star-Spangled Banner” being played once a week at schools. Would this increase patriotism or love of country among students? I have my doubts, but I could be wrong.

Similarly, it makes little difference if Alabama calls the water lapping against the coastline of our Redneck Riviera the Gulf of America or the Gulf of Mexico.

Will the state of Alabama die on this hill when a future president issues his or her own executive order to revert the name back to the Gulf of Mexico? I hope not.

You will probably see these bills, or something similar to them, again next year. They might pass then, or they might be left at the altar once more. If the latter happens, expect some Republican legislators to blow off some steam at other Republicans.

That mud will wash off before next year’s session, though. It always does.