WHO I AM
My raising and passion for this country
We are all molded by our upbringing and the environment we grow up in. I was fortunate to grow up in the heart of our nation. Raised on a dairy goat farm in rural Illinois, surrounded by soybeans and corn fields, I spent my childhood learning how to responsibly care for the land and animals I was given. I also grew up in a nurturing community and was taught by passionate teachers, invested mothers, and servants of the church.
We didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but my dad would drive us on his work trips across the country and I experienced the magnitude of our nation’s natural wealth. I witnessed the vast difference across our nation; I met people from every state, city to country, Christian to Muslim, black to white, and every difference in between. The opportunity to see all of this as a child allowed me to meet it with curiosity and acceptance. I was experiencing our nation’s difference without judgement. Today, when our difference is being used against us, I know how important it is to have a president who values our difference and has a vision to nurture our whole nation.
My diverse upbringing gave me the courage to take on tough challenges and I am wiser for each challenge I face. As a weathered warrior with a growth mindset, I use my battles as building blocks, preparing me for the monumental battle our country now faces. As a lifelong student, I’ve studied our past and learned from our transgressions. I am encouraged knowing that our current battles are not new and we have the tools to overcome. The question becomes, will we employ the right tools to meet the challenges we now face?
WHAT I STAND FOR
Our founders set us up for success. They fought against tyranny to give us the opportunity to govern ourselves with the tool of democracy. Through spirited debate and consensus building, they sacrificed selfish gains to write constitutional guidelines that supported the people. They saw the government as I see it today, a tool to support the people to pursue the American dream.
For most of our American history, we led the world in pushing the limits of humanity: electricity, abolishing slavery, women’s rights, combustible engine, space travel, computers, internet, and using our natural resources to build and innovate. Great American minds have always asked HOW.
And yet, as I watch the current political discourse, I see ignorance. I see selfish gains being put before the people’s needs. We are no longer asking how we innovate and ensure prosperity for generations to come. We are so far off track from where we began on the battlefields of the American Revolution.
The rest of the world is passing us by and we are perpetuating a system that creates more problems than it solves. I cannot watch our children suffer. I will not stand by and watch our country destroyed by corruption and sold to the highest bidder. I choose to look at our issues and find solutions that will serve our greater good. And I know I am not alone.
It’s time we put selfishness aside and ask how again. How can we use the tools we have to create security and stability for every American? How can we unite and fight for our country?
WHY I CARE, AND WHY ME
We are at a crossroads. Our planet is dying for attention and care. Our children are protesting our inability to act on their behalf. Our veterans are committing suicide at an alarming rate. 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.
I know our pain and suffering and I see the way out. I see the hard work and sacrifice that it will take to become the land of the free once again. At this crossroads we are given a choice: continue the path we paved over 200 years ago, making the same mistakes or turn right and face the challenges our country holds, becoming stronger for facing them.
As a woman who has fought many battles and overcome many obstacles, I tell you that there is freedom on the other side of our division. There is freedom on the other side of our financial crisis. There is freedom on the other side of our mental distress. But we must face our fears and past demons. We must look corruption and greed in the eye and dismantle it.
As we move into a period of battling our deepest wounds, in a democracy, we get to choose who we want to lead us. Do we want a warrior who has weathered these storms and conquered them or would we choose a person of privilege who has never seen the enemy we now face? The choice is ours. It’s character that matters now, and we must choose wisely. The fate of our nation depends on it.
I am the warrior our nation needs. I am the leader we deserve. I am you and I stand to fight for US.
