The Last of My Kind : a Moderate Republican Willing to Meet in the Messy Middle
The messy middle where decisions are made and consensus is gained.
My favorite singer-songwriter, Jason Isbell asks the question, “Am I the last of my kind?” (Listen to the whole song here.) His style of roots rock or alternative country or whatever it is, keeps him off of mainstream radio. Yet, one of his biggest hits, Cover Me Up, was recorded by Morgan Wallen and became a huge hit on country radio. He feels like he is from an older time, a simpler time, and his concern is not to be a mainstream “new” country star. He sings his cathartic songs from the heart and pours his heart out in every line. He is the last of his kind.
My wife, Alonda Bailey, is an elementary school teacher of 26 years. She’s been in one school her entire career, Mansfield Elementary. Mansfield is actually the school she attended as a child. We live on the same family land she grew up on. Her father, the son of a sharecropper, worked hard and earned enough to purchase some of that land his family farmed. And now the Hodge's family owns a nice portion of farmland on Hodges Circle and Hwy 229. My family are beneficiaries of those labored years of sweat and toil. “Life is simpler on the farm,” they say. And now, as a 26-year professional educator, who has seen so many changes in teaching paradigms and instructional programs, who has witnessed the downward spiral in classroom behavior of students the last 20+ years, and who has watched technology and politics change education completely, my wife feels like she is the last of her kind, too.
I am a life-long resident of Newton County. I worked on the Square at the Red & White Grocery store as a teenager. Later, I worked at J.C. Pool Men’s Clothing store. Even during my “wild years” as a musician, our band would rehearse “under” the Square in the old Mickey’s Diner storage area (somewhere beneath the current Mystic Grill and Tropical Nails). I’ve seen trends come and go. I’ve been educated here and then at UGA, Georgia State, Mercer, and now Luther-Rice Seminary. I’ve toured a quarter of the US or more in a 90s alternative band. And I’ve interacted with all types of people in dive bars, pizza parlors, music festivals, college campuses, city events, rural shindigs, and every type church you could imagine. And what I’ve learned is that most of us, across this great country and across all-time, want the same things.
We share so much in common:
We love family.
We care about our kids.
We want a safe place to live, work, and play.
We want to see our community get along and move ahead at a pace we can sustain.
We have pride in our local sports: collegiate, high school, and recreational.
We don’t want to give the government all of our money, but we value good infrastructure, roads, trails, parks, recreation, police & fire protection, and solid public education.
We have more in common than the differences the media portrays.
And in order to see the above come to fruition, our community leaders must lean in, work together, meet in the messy middle, and make sure the main things remain the main things. (Andy Stanley recently spoke about the “messy middle” at the Georgia State Capitol. This short speech has been the mental seed for this post. I encourage you to watch it here.)
This is where I feel like the last of my kind.
I am proudly a moderate on social issues (some may argue liberal), conservative on fiscal issues, and a diplomat amongst differing parties. I don’t spit out Republican sound bites and fear-phrases. And I don’t disparage my Democrat-party friends. I have been a card-carrying Libertarian most of my life and have only recently found a home in the moderate wing of the Republican Party. And please don’t hear me wrong, I’m not "wiggly.” I have my convictions and I have my principles. But ALL of them are formed by my understanding of the Holy Scriptures. And from what I read, I am to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul. And I should love my neighbor as myself.
And from what I read, I am to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul. And I should love my neighbor as myself.
So, when it comes to the good of our community, I WANT to work together with my fellow board members, Republican and Democrat. I NEED their perspective to make the best decisions for our entire community. Often my Democrat friends have good ideas. I need to hear them. And earning their trust means they’ll hear me out, too. We have real discussions, sometimes difficult conversations, where I can ask questions about issues and perspectives that I am ignorant of. I believe THIS is the way forward. I believe THIS is the way to unity. If one “side” wins completely then so many people lose. But if we have real conversation, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable, and listen to each other, I believe we will make better decisions for our community as a whole.
Maybe it is time we stop speaking in FOX News and CNN soundbites and start listening to each other.
Maybe it is time we stop assuming the worst about each other and begin giving each other the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe it is time we stop being political and demonizing the other perspective and start being human again.
Maybe it is time we focus on local issues instead of assuming every national issue is attacking our community.
Maybe it is time we stop listening to big media and their fear-driven rhetoric and start having real conversations with our neighbors.
Maybe, I’m not the last of my kind!?!
Maybe there are others that feel the same way.
Maybe YOU are ready for that kind of leadership at the local level.
The video above is my effort to meet in the messy middle in a recent interview for the Chamber of Commerce. I’d love for you to spend 15 minutes watching and then join in the conversation. Click the envelope at the top of this page and shoot me an email. Or if you want to support a candidate who isn't afraid to meet in the messy middle for the betterment of our community, click the donate button and let’s partner together.
