Swimming Upstream

 About ten years ago on a spring day I went to a friends farm to hunt for artifacts. The crops weren't in yet but the ground had been turned and after a few days of rain the furrows of dirt had flattened leaving the stones at the surface glistening in the sunlight, washed and exposed. On the way into the field I crossed Fishing River by using rocks in the river bed as footing. After about four hours of surface hunting I was returning to the truck to go home when I noticed that the river had risen. Apparently, it had rained north of us and the water had made its way downstream to my location. I could no longer see the rocks I had used  but could tell where I had crossed by my own footprints in the sand on the bank leading to the river. Carefully, I began stepping into the water feeling for the large rocks with my feet. About halfway across the water was over my knees and rushing against my weight. I took one missed step and  the stream grabbed me dragging me into the water. I was pulled in and plunged under. The current quickly swept me along the bank. I surfaced for breath and saw the bank passing swiftly by as the current controlled me. But thank God I had a moment of clarity. The only way I was going to get any kind of control was to swim against the current. I turned in the water and began swimming hard.

The bank that had been hurling past was  suddenly within my grasp. Kicking and stroking I was able to grab a branch and pull myself out onto the bank. It was a lesson in living that applies today.
 Observing the Missouri House of Representatives and the way that process works I realize that the worst that could happen is to get sucked into the current. A process where the priorities are always seemingly designed by someone else. A system where the needs of people appear to be off the table because the trend is to follow the existing discussion where it leads. And then cast a vote.
 It doesn't have to be that way and the people I am talking to are incensed that "those politicians can't seem to get anything done". The system that we use to address problems in government is a result of the efforts from it's individual parts or ... our representatives. To submit to a dysfunctional process that leaves a majority following along in hopes of making a difference is never going to address our needs. We all see clearly where, day after day, the same ridiculous priorities fill the agenda of legislators who wait in the wings to decide which insignificant vote to cast for issues that never should have been on the table to begin with.
 We can change this but it requires the courage to go against the flow. A realization that the system is only as broken as we allow it to be. That resistance is the opportunity for balance and control. If it isn't working change direction. It's time to change the conversation in the Missouri House of Representatives. We can.
 Today I will be back on the street in the district. Door after door I will meet new faces and I will listen. People will tell me like they always do what their priorities in life are today. I can't imagine asking them to vote for me with the idea that I would go to Jefferson City and allow the current to decide representation for them. I can't imagine it for myself. From today to November I will listen to the needs of those I hope to represent. And in January of 2013 when I am sworn in I will make my presence there matter for the people who sent me.

Kevin Morgan- Candidate for Missouri House of Representatives District 38