Opinion

I’m a Republican who voted for Donald Trump, but lately, I’ve been disappointed that Republicans aren’t sticking up for everyday Kansans. I can’t understand why my Republican senators (Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran) don’t seem to understand how badly the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt my small town of Hiawatha.

Kansas needs to go on a diet. A sales tax diet.

Since the time of the first family in the Bible, there has been a division between people. Cain saw a difference between himself and Abel. Cain acted out of jealousy over the perceived ‘more’ that Abel had than himself. God loved both of them, but Abel’s offering was what He asked for and Cain’s was not up to expectations. So, Cain killed Abel because he thought God loved him more.

Step Three of Good Trouble: Respect the rights of everyone including authorities. Aretha Franklin became famous for her song titled: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Her cry to find respect from the one she loved touched a chord – musical and emotional in our country. We live in a world where everyone is crying out for their rights in the workplace, in the home, and in the marketplace of thoughts and values in our society. The women’s rights movement has made its way by pushing and shoving their demand for respect to the top of our political world. Equal pay, equal employment opportunities, equity in the home, and first and foremost- a choice in reproductive rights are top priorities for many women in politics and entertainment. Unfortunately, the demand for respect is most often met with rejection when there is no trust or understanding. Respect is earned; and unfortunately making demands leads to animosity and anger. Join me as we continue on in our series on Good Trouble to step three Respect. In our previous videos I introduced you to Laura Haviland, an unsung heroine of the 19th Century Underground Railroad, Union Army staff member, and post, Civil-War nurse and humanitarian.

As a girl, I dreamed of a future family and farm life in somewhat vague terms. However, one aspect was clear: I would not want to marry a dairy farmer because they never go on vacation.

In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, people throughout the world participated in nightly celebrations of health care workers. Standing on their front steps, porches and balconies, they clapped, cheered and banged pots and pans.

Not long ago, school board elections were low-key races, required by state law to be nonpartisan. Candidates were retired school personnel, parents or others recruited to run because they were actively involved in local schools or the community.

Jeff and I had been back in Iola, Kansas for about three years, after being asked to leave our last church. While we were healing and restoring, lots of things happened there. We had our youngest child. I learned to play the piano. Relationships were restored that had been broken when we left the church in Iola. We even served as an interim pastor at a church in a nearby town. All while we waited and healed.

This series on Good Trouble was born out of my research on the life of Laura Haviland for my book Underground Angel. In our last article we looked at Step 1 of Good Trouble out of 7 important steps. Step 1: “Become a friend to someone totally different from yourself-in politics, race, creed, and class. Previously, I introduced Laura Haviland, the Underground Railroad heroine who assisted thousands of slaves to freedom before, during, and after the Civil War. The town of Haviland, Kansas, where I went to school and eventually taught, Barclay College, was named in her honor.