Being the change

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person – or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” -- Barack Obama

I take this 2008 presidential race personally. Yes, I have chosen to support Barack Obama with my time and money. But let me tell you why.

In June 1998, my family and I came back to Iowa to visit my parents at their farm. During that week, I drove my parents to Nebraska Methodist Hospital Oncology Center for their comprehensive check ups. Mom, who was battling colon cancer, had now developed two tiny spots on her liver. And Dad, who was a five-year survivor of pancreatic cancer, was holding his own, but barely. The long-term outlook for both was not optimistic.

Later that week, my dad and I sat at the picnic table in the backyard talking about what would happen to the farm. He shared his disappointment that Iowa had never developed the economic opportunities to keep his three daughters and one son closer to home. He also mourned the loss of rural culture. That conversation, Dad’s deep disappointment and cracking voice, have stayed with me.

A little more than a year later, Mom and Dad were gone. We spent two years sorting out the estate. My older sisters inherited 80 acres of farm ground, the land where Dad had grown up, now rented and farmed by our cousin. My brother and I (the younger two) inherited the farm and house where we’d grown up. My brother, who was best suited to live here and maintain the place, searched for employment, but ran straight up against all the economic factors Dad lamented. So my husband, a special education teacher, found a job, and we moved almost two years after dad’s death. I was not upset to leave my corporate job behind and concentrate on our kids, then ages one and 13.

I did not anticipate what happened next. Six months after returning to the place of my birth, my neighbors approached me about becoming a write-in candidate for school board. Knowing the abysmal turnout for school board elections, I said, “Sure.” Much to my surprise, I won the election, and the work has been non-stop ever since. (For the record, school board directors are not paid in Iowa.)

In addition to taking on school board leadership, I ended up with leadership roles in my Methodist church and a historic preservation group. The new work included: starting an after-school program at the church, writing and administering grant dollars, helping our school district develop a vision, establishing 501(c)3 status for the preservation group, and on and on. On top of this, my son entered and graduated high school and my daughter went from toddler to elementary school.

Behind it all, though, replaying in my brain was that conversation with Dad. I had returned to this place I love, disappointed to see so little had changed in the 18 years I’d been gone. Decline was the only change. And I was surrounded by people discouraged and confused – too cynical or worn out to fight for change. Many didn’t know where to begin.

Yet I returned at a good time. A few stalwart leaders are building some things here: exploring economic development, opening small businesses, and pooling resources. We’re beginning to show people that, “Yes we can” make a difference, whether it’s picking up the neighborhood or reopening a park. But it’s a battle every day to get people to work for change; to believe it’s possible.

As a community organizer and civil rights attorney, Barack Obama wrestled with these same challenges and barriers on the South Side of Chicago. So for me, it’s exciting to see a national leader, who has lived this experience, speak this truth and ask us to believe in ourselves. Because until we decide to make America a better nation and to work for it, nothing will change.

Taking Hillary at her word

I should have known what was coming when Hillary Clinton announced her intention to run for president. “I’m in it to win it!” she said. And with the Clintons, that means by any means necessary. Which is why I don’t see much difference between Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush.

I know, here it comes. Now I’m a Hillary hater.

Far from it. I voted twice for Bill Clinton, although I had reservations about his support for big business and NAFTA. Personally, my family was able to recover some financially during his tenure in the White House. And I always felt Hillary took way too many hits for being a strong woman.

During the impeachment debacle, I joined Move On because I felt Congress should get on with the people’s business, not the Clinton family’s personal affairs. Now, I’m ready to tell the Clintons, “Move on.”

Why this change? Since becoming a senator, Hillary’s record on key votes has not impressed me. And her inability to admit mistakes, such as voting for the resolution leading to the Iraq War, only serves to remind me of the current occupant of the White House.

As does the Clintons' current behavior on the campaign trail. Lies, innuendo, allegations of voter suppression – all the things we have lived through under George W. Bush.

It simply appalls me. How could a former president and his wife so endanger their own legacy? Do they care about their party and country?

To me, it demonstrates a lack of concern for the people’s needs and the people’s business. “In it to win it” tells me all I need to know. For Bill and Hillary Clinton, the presidency is about them, not me and my family. That’s why Hillary won’t get my vote.

What’s wrong with Hillary?

I keep hearing this question – from the media, pundits and Hillary supporters. And I’ll try to give my perspective, as someone not quite 45 and in the Obama camp.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Hillary. It’s who she associates with and what she represents. It’s her ties to Wal-Mart and her support from Rupert Murdoch – you know, of Fox News.

It’s her fundraising help from Alan Quasha, who helped bail George W. Bush’s failing oil company out by folding it into Harken Energy. She also hosted Ken Lay at the White House. You remember Ken Lay, former CEO of Enron?

It’s her ties to failed healthcare reform, NAFTA, Monica Lewinsky and impeachment proceedings. Yes, it’s her ties to Bill Clinton.

It’s her association with the Iraq War, and like George W., her inability to admit a mistake. It’s her association with the politics of “triangulation.”

It’s her association with James Carville, Bob Shrum, Terry MacAuliffe and all the other Democratic Leadership Council strategists who have consistently lost the Democrats elections with their focus on fundraising and polls over grassroots activism. They’ve got theirs; screw the rest of us. We’re simply votes to be won, not people to be served.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Hillary. I believe she’s a good person, very intelligent and capable. But her time is past. All her ties will lead us straight back to politics as usual.

I want a president who will lead Americans to shared sacrifice and service. Hillary, because of these associations, will only perpetuate old divisions.

If only she and Bill could see it.

Thank you, Mrs. Hoogeveen

As American Education Week (Nov. 11-17) came to a close and I concluded my week at the Iowa Association of School Boards Delegate Assembly and Convention this year, I was steeped in memories of 8^th Grade Social Studies.

That year, I was blessed to study American history and civics under Mrs. Lila Hoogeveen. She had taught my sister, Linda, art, and she had been my first grade teacher – the wonderful lady who rescued my new doll, bringing it to my home when I’d left it at school. Somehow, Mrs. Hoogeveen knew I’d be distressed.

So I was expecting an invigorating year. Mrs. Hoogeveen was obviously an accomplished teacher. And she was known among middle school students for her signature project – the Constitutional Convention of the Continental Congress.

A masterpiece of integrated instruction, this activity included a homework assignment to make a powdered wig to wear while the Congress was in session; a reenactment of the Congress’ agenda to create a Constitution for the United States; and ongoing personal journals, written in the voice of the characters we were assigned.

The entire process modeled democracy in a way which still resonates with me. The hours we delegates spent arguing our positions demonstrated powerfully the difficulty of our founding fathers’ work. We could not adjourn until we completed a Constitution. And not surprisingly, ours did not match the Constitution developed by the real Continental Congress. We learned via experience that democracy depends greatly on the people who participate.

The long hours of discourse and disagreement taught us the hard work that is democracy. And I find myself revisiting that experience as I work at the school board table and as I see our nation prepare for the 2008 elections. Too few people get involved; too few people discuss policies and events; too few people communicate with their representatives.

Although it wasn’t always pretty, Mrs. Hoogeveen’s Constitutional Convention modeled how democratic government should work. And it’s a lesson I’m coming to appreciate more all the time.

So thank you, Mrs. Hoogeveen, for teaching about democracy in way that stuck.

U.S. Democracy: Dumb All Over?

For the last 30 years or more, we’ve been assailed with the conservative mantra that government is bad. And all the repetition has led many of us to buy that line.

But throughout that period, I have observed and absorbed more and more about the workings of democracy. Through high school and college government classes, independent reading of our Constitution and Bill of Rights and most recently participating as a local school board member, I have learned first hand how democracy works.

And it does.

What fails is not our system, but the people we put in it. Government is not bad; we simply put the wrong people in place. And that’s our responsibility. Remember “we the people?”

Then to paraphrase Frank Zappa, if the government is dumb (or bad), then we’re dumb. And maybe even a little ugly on the side!

As a citizenry, 2008 is our accountability moment. Our founding fathers wrestled with empowering ordinary people with the responsibility of selecting and monitoring their own leaders. They knew it was a grave responsibility. And so they also championed a free public education. The system they created was marvelously designed, flexible and self-correcting provided citizens exercised their responsibility to participate through monitoring, communicating, voting and serving.

I’d give us a failing grade.

Throughout my lifetime I’ve watched citizens abandon the political process. Then they whine about being left behind! This is our government until we abandon it, and someone else hijacks it. And I think we’re very nearly there.

So let’s act. Engage in the 2008 elections. Learn about the candidates and vote. But don’t stop there.

Monitor government. Demand media cover not just prurient details of officials’ lives, but their votes on policy. Communicate and advocate with those officials. E-mail and the Internet make this easier than ever. Phones and letters work, too.

And finally, consider serving at some level yourself. Because democracy is shared responsibility, and more people should get involved.

In honor of the protests Oct. 27 . . .

Tomorrow in 11 cities across the country, protests and marches to end the war in Iraq will be held. Living in the boondocks, I won't be near enough to attend one. But I'll be thinking about all the marchers, and my heart will be with them.

For to quote the great Molly Ivins in her final column, "Every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them, and that's why we're trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets. Bang pots and pans. Demand, 'Stop it, now!'"

Here's my contribution for today.

Complacent Citizens – 2007

(After Max Ehrmann)

Complacent citizens, apathetically silent,
speaking not to question power;
following blindly like lemmings.
You mourn the lost lives
of our soldier sons and daughters,
but will not stand to shield them.

Complacent citizens, apathetically silent,
how many more lives and limbs lost
before you move to protest
the death and destruction
of this unjust and vengeful war?

Is there in your heart no love for others,
no respect for life, and no concern for country
that you will demand an end to this war?
Complacent drones or ignorant automatons,
I exhort you to act; urge movement
to stop this bloody conflict now!

What the SCHIP battle says about our society

I’ve been closely following the SCHIP battle, and I feel it demonstrates some ugly truths about our country. How can the richest nation in the world refuse to provide healthcare for its children?

Well, when the general public has been bludgeoned with the meme about welfare mothers in Cadillacs for more than 30 years, this is what you get. And it’s especially puzzling this narrow and mean agenda has been supported by the rise of the Christian Right. Didn’t Christ preach to care for the poor and to help your neighbor?

For years, conservatives have bombarded us with their dominant message of the failure of government and its social programs. Stories of abuses are flaunted in the media, while countless social service successes are ignored. In the meantime, people simply believe government doesn’t work because the only reports we receive (Thank you Main Stream Media!) are negative.

To complicate matters, you also have the Christian Right preaching a narrow view of “values” that emphasizes sexual mores rather than humanity. Therefore, homosexuality is a greater threat than hunger. At the same time, these hypocrites follow front men like Joel Osteen, who preach they will receive monetary rewards on earth for their faithfulness. Forgive me if I cannot quote chapter and verse, but didn’t Jesus preach to leave behind your worldly possessions?

To me, this is the picture of the conservative movement in America: “We don’t believe in government. We don’t believe in evolution, but we believe in Social Darwinism. Profit over people. If you can’t earn an adequate living, you just aren’t working hard enough.” Never mind that they’ve rigged the system to make it damn near impossible for someone born into poverty to move up the ladder. And never mind that many of these conservatives have never had to work from the bottom up. This is why Bush doesn’t “get” poor people.

Overworked, exhausted, broadcast-hypnotized Americans have bought these lies hook, line and sinker. Like the saps in the Staples commercials, we’re all looking for the Easy Button. We seldom question what’s presented.

So now that the tide is turning and average Americans are waking up to the fact they’ve been snookered, what line does the GOP trot out to defend their SCHIP veto? “Poor kids first!”

In the past, that line might have worked. But now that more of are us are flirting with the poverty line, we’re finally starting to care.