Light in the darkness and how to bring it.

“Sometimes, it is how you shine in the darkness during other people's misery that is remembered more than anything you could have said or done when you have suffered just as much.” ― Shannon L. Alder When darkness comes in it takes heart into the roots of the bedrock of our great institutions and spreads like cancer throughout the state. This blackness leaves a feeling of hopelessness, discord, disconnection, and Isolation among folks. The Ozarks and district 8 in general, are no exception to this rule. Sometimes, it feels like we’re living on “Planet Zero” and our state just really wants to make the post-apocalypse world of “Mad Max and the Thunderdome” into a reality. I mean we are strictly a one-party rule, our congressional representatives on both state and national levels will not communicate with us, and the information on current topics is limited at best. And that’s not even mentioning how unaccessible the resources that we need to survive actually are. So, when folks don’t know what legislation is passed, or what’s on the ballot. There’s a huge oppressive problem that a solution seems to be unattainable. But it begs the question when did this downfall start exactly and how long has it been going? And how do we go back and reverse the damage that’s been done? Honestly, there’s no one solution to these problems. To find answers we have to go back to the beginning when the ultra-conservatives started moving in heavily back in the 2000s. When fringe the “Tea Party” started really becoming mainstream and hijacked the GOP with extreme views and more times than not racist rhetoric. This group started infiltrating the community hubs which in this area are the local churches (of course this started back in the mid-1990s) and eventually it became pretty common to hear pastors start preaching from the pulpit and who you should vote for “Because it’s apart of some divine plan”. Soon this nonsense started to spread and the big money started pouring into state candidates with all kinds of promises of how they could improve our way of life. At first, this kind of messaging resonated with folks down here, because their lives weren’t improving. Small towns were starting to become a thing of the past, rural areas that used to hopping places for agriculture, farmer’s markets, and small “mom and pop” shops jobs were going “by the way of the dinosaurs” by big corporate chains that had moved in. “Big Ag” moved in and started killing off the local farm industries, manufacturing jobs were being shipped overseas, and the list of woes goes on as they say. Naturally, the GOP movement took full advantage of this dire situation and blamed everything on the opposite party. Because it was easy to do because it’s what people were seeing and experiencing. The feeling that the State Democrat party had abandoned them was a common collective experience. Of course, the State party started really focusing on the metro areas in places like St. Louis or Kansas City, and fully pulled out of the rural areas (which make up at least 93% of the state) by 2016. Making it all that much easier to manipulate folks and spread the message of fear through an entire population that was poor and insolvent that “their neighbors or folks that had a darker skin color was coming after them, and take everything they have.” This slowly turned good-hearted people that would give their shirt off their back if someone needed it–into something almost unrecognizable. We lost the concept of voting for the candidates than themselves and started voting strictly by one party. That ugly seed had been planted and grew into something heinous by the time 2016 rolled around, and we ended up with folks like Hawley, Schmitt, Greitens, Smith, etc taking their place on the national stage. Simply, because people had the driven perception of folks like McCaskill was getting richer while we mere serfs kept getting poorer. Whether or not that was the case, that’s still up for much debate depending on who you ask. Myself, Claire was hit and miss with me on things, but I will say she tried to serve and did do things for our great district, but she was the last democrat from the main party that reached out to the people in the area. So when MAGA became a movement, Missouri especially down in the Ozarks became a stronghold and displayed the damage this movement had done to everyone. Between the extremists that took over Mo Leg to the extreme paranoia of folks was just so overwhelming of desperate people just trying to survive, and by the time 2020 rolled around folks that were so full of aspiration that things were going to turn around–Had very little left to give. Now flash forward to the 2022 midterms. When Jess Piper and Randi McCallian came swinging out of the gate, nobody expected either one of them to take off in the matter in which they did. Their message of “Let’s be better neighbors” just exploded and took root in a message that people could believe in again as corny as that sounds. And with that message came a different kind of unity from just about every walk of life imaginable. With them, they bring a sense of unity, renewal, and making common sense sexy again, people are slowly changing back into the kind of folks I remember growing up around. Like some kind of curse was lifted, and folks want to go back to what we consider the “normal”. Which is to be good to one another and mind your own business as long as it’s not hurting anyone. It’s just how we roll here. Do I think these ladies have a shot, yes I do, because folks are now disgusted by all the ugliness that MAGA had planted. They’re tired of the name-calling, childish antics, and extreme political discourse. They’re tired of being ignored by so-called leaders that have let their home rot and decay. Folks want better and they deserve better… But this is where you and I have to step in as Missourians. If we want this kind of change to happen, we’re going to have to start stepping up to the plate and doing our fair share of the workload. We need to be more in the actual process and not just hope for a better outcome. Granted, it’s not a “fool’s work” and it’s tiring but it needs to be done so we have a shot at getting the best out of what life has to offer. This means to start getting loud and opinionated (But don’t be rude), and be unafraid to speak up when others cannot. And if you have social media share, share, share important things. Most importantly start calling out the nonsensical rhetoric that’s only purpose is to divide or oppress someone else for being different. Reconnect with folks. Start living the philosophy of “helping your neighbor” when you see someone struggle to step in. It’s these simple things that will help take back our district and take back our state. This is how we get the light to pierce through the blackness that plagues our beloved home. Let’s make Missouri Great Again! Much Love and Peace Out, Jojo