Uncommon Common Sense

My wife and I spent a goodly amount of time this past weekend knocking on doors. The weather was beautiful, and the people we had the opportunity to meet were just as beautiful. It's been amazing. The response we get from people we meet has been overwhelmingly positive. We knock on the door, and tell folks that I'm running for the Iowa House to represent our neighborhood and district, and that my number one goal is to try and bring more "common sense" back into the State House. That seems to be striking a chord with almost everyone we're speaking with. It seems that the vast majority of the people in our district (NE Des Moines) are thinking that "common sense" is something that has been sorely lacking in the legislature lately, and vast majority of people don't believe that they have been well-represented at all. The feel that we 're getting from the people we're speaking with is that it's time for a change. It's time to bring ...

Indomitable Spirit. That capacity we have for continuing on in the face of overwhelming odds, knowing that we will be victorious, because we are doing the "next right thing". When I first decided to run for the State House, I was met with a bit of skepticism. Friends, family, even people in the party...the response was never overtly "you're gonna get your butt kicked", but it generally ran along the lines of, "good luck with that". I have been told that it is impossible for the people in District #68 to elect me, because the majority of the people in our district simply vote for whomever they are told to vote for. Or they vote for the incumbent, because it's "easy". Odd. With the hundreds and hundreds of doors we've knocked on, the overwhelming response that we have been getting from people is that not only are they excited that they will finally have a choice on the ballot this time, but they are more than ready for a change i...

Hot fudge malts, with extra hot fudge, made with chocolate ice cream. There's a little shop in our district on Hubbell that my wife and I drool and swoon about during those long, cold winter months. Then, magically, usually in April, we'll happen to drive by the shop and notice that they're open. Yay! Grandma's is open! And we can indulge in our favorite shared treat. I tell you, in my opinion, nobody makes a hot fudge malt with extra hot fudge and chocolate ice cream better than the folks at Grandma's Sweet Shop. And we indulge during the summer. At least once a week, usually more often. Fortunately for our waistlines, we both tend to be quite active in the summer. My wife is forever doing something in the yard with her flowers. I tend to be also working in the yard more, or kicking at class more often. In any event, those wonderful hot fudge malts tend not to add to our waistlines. However, as the weather gets cooler, we tend to be less active outdoors, ...

Over the past few days, I've spoken with many people who have listened politely, and then made some comment to the effect of, "But I'm only one person. I don't count for much." I've heard others say something similar, especially when it comes to encouraging them to vote. "I'm only one vote, and one vote doesn't make a difference". One person DOES make a difference. In fact, that is the ONLY thing that makes a difference, is each individual. I believe we need to encourage our society that the individual IS important, and that we, as a collective group of individuals, have the ability to impact change. "Change". That's been the buzzword this year, hasn't it? Everybody seems to be clamoring for "change", from every soapbox and in every stump-speech. But humans don't like "change". We tend to be creatures of habit. Think about it...many would prefer to remain in an uncomfortable or unfavorable pos...

Well, we've begun our door-to-door campaign. The Boss and I hit well over 100 households in about 4 hours, and received very favorable responses. It's amazing how many people have no idea who the incumbent is. Several we ran across had no idea that in our district, the Representative is someone from their very own neighborhood, not some distant person from some other town. So perhaps that is the greater purpose of this campaign...to educate the electorate as to exactly what impact they can have on individual campaigns and on the election in general. I've run across many people over the years who take the approach of, "well, I'm only one voice. I can't make any difference. Besides, it's all politics." Hello! That's what 'politics' is supposed to be all about! One person, making their voice heard, in chorus with other like-minded people. It begins with an individual, and grows into a solid wave of people united for a common good. How many ti...