As I write this, it's early morning – raining, dark, with thunder in the distance.
I know the rumble of thunder reflects violent and sometimes calamitous things farther away. I hear thunder every day from our national government. It's just awful what's going on in Washington, DC, and in many state capitals too.
In my State of the City address last month, I spoke of democracy as a relay race. We're all carrying the torch for a time, moving our communities and country along the path, by voting, volunteering, marching, donating, advocating, agitating, organizing.
It turns out that our current leg of that relay race is very challenging. Serious headwinds and rugged terrain threaten progress. Fear and division are being fostered. Terrible policies are being implemented. We have to knuckle down together and keep the torch of progress moving however we can.
For my part, that means doing all we can in Bloomington to help create the community we want to live in. It's up to each of us to create the community we want to live in, for all of us. If you are interested, you can read that speech here or watch the video. There's also a terrific new two-minute video of our community.
It's hard to keep up with current events. It seems a new storm threatens every day. We'll need stamina, and tenacity, and teamwork. And yes, nonetheless, we must persist! There's no other option.
I'm confident that our relay race will continue and we will progress together, locally, and yes even nationally, despite some tough times. Too many have worked too hard and sacrificed too much and come too far to falter now.
Thanks for all you do to help create the community we want to live in. Let's imagine it and let's keep after it.
P.S. Some of you may want to join US Senators Joe Donnelly and special guest Cory Booker at an event in Bloomington, at noon on Saturday, March 25th. Dawn and I will be there to help Joe prepare for a tough reelection fight in 2018. Watch for details of this and other Monroe County Democratic Party events here, including the April 6 FDR Gala!