Illinois Victim of Domestic Abuse
My letter to Peoria Journal Star before all polished by editors. It is like a student on adderall who may be more fitted for the classroom, but lacks some of the inner sparkle.
Cleaned up PJ Star Version --- Link to PJStar
August 3, 2017
I have grown weary of hearing my fellow citizens of this great state running us down. Excusing themselves to others for living here. Their words express the same negative emotions a victim of domestic abuse would use. One phase of Illinois’ emotional response is denial. In our case we refuse to acknowledge what great resources we have. We allow the dysfunction and corruption of our political system to overwhelm what a marvelous state we are. Our history is of a state that has created great people, great ideas, great inventions, and produced great accomplishments. Now, we cringe in denial, as if we fear the sun will not rise in the morning.
The dysfunction is breaking our school system. Illinois is a state where strong public education was ordained at our founding, reinforced by land grant colleges as we experienced great growth, and identified by opportunity for all our youth. We have been a state dedicated to offering opportunity from Cairo to Chicago, sorry Lake County. We must seek solution, not condemn students because they happen to be in poor districts. Many parents are forced to work multiple part time jobs, over multiple shifts, at low wages, without health insurance, and their children are provided less resources and care for their education. We then allow the power brokers to condemn these poor achieving students to life long neglect. Why do we not provide safe, nourishing, and enriching care centers from birth? This would allow parents to be more productive and young people to flourish in school. Now, our governor’s veto has thrown into doubt our schools even being able to open.
Chicago reborn from ashes of destruction
Instead of solution we demonstrate other symptoms of victimhood. We withdraw from the realities of politics and budgets. We fall into our partisan and ideological catch phrases of blaming the other side. All Illinoisans need to praise the brave Republicans who overrode the governor’s budget veto. We need to encourage young Democrats to run as challengers in primaries across the state. We need to resist the new era of propaganda news funded by wealth to appear objective. We need to be skeptical of extremism and bromides instead of fact based policy. Illinois could stimulate growth and innovation by building modern efficient integrated transportation systems. Illinois is a great state with all the resources to do great things. We need to stop taking it and fight back.
"The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on." U.S. Grant
We must fight back as if we are in a war, because we are. A war for the very structure of democracy. At risk is the ability of citizens to govern themselves in rational government.
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