My Point of View by Brian Hensley

Why does someone choose to get involved in politics? What does “being involved” mean?  Why should you get involved?

Everyone has an amazing teacher at some point in their lives. Sometimes teachers are those who are actual educators in a school system. Sometimes they are a parent, a grandparent or an elderly neighbor.

I have been blessed throughout my life and have many teachers. Both of my parents taught me. Amazing friends in college challenged me and taught me. Bosses in all kinds of roles have taught me. But three individuals, all of whom were educators in my middle and high school years, challenged me and got me interested in politics.

My eight-grade civics teacher made my class understand how the Constitution was drafted. Why does the Constitution use some words versus other words? Those words were chosen intentionally and often after hours of debate — sometimes around one or two words in an extremely hot, stuffy room in Philadelphia, dressed in 100 percent cotton suits. Imagine how important those words were if those debates continued for hours and hours.

My 10th-grade history teacher made our classes look outside the textbooks. He made us read opposing articles that contradicted what our textbook said. Imagine that — there are often two sides to everything. From the Civil War to the civil rights marches. Things aren’t always right or wrong, left or right, up or down, Republican or Democrat.

Throughout high school, I was involved in different debate competitions and we had an amazing debate coach. Knowing I had strong opinions, she encouraged me to participate in Lincoln-Douglas-style debates.  In these debates, one enters the room with the competitor, knowing a single controversial sentence, but not knowing which side of the topic one would take.  You had to have arguments on each side thought out, reasoned, and supported. What an amazing life lesson! Look at all sides of an argument. Be prepared to discuss them.

What does any of this have to do with politics? These are the reasons that I got involved in politics. I learned that there are many sides to any issue.  Our country’s past matters and can’t be ignored or “shaped.” However, the past is happening today. The past will happen tomorrow, and the future can be shaped and in this country that future is often shaped by those who lead or advise our governments and local nonprofits.

Who attends these meetings, speaks at working groups, volunteers with nonprofits and leads our local city council and county board meetings matter!  Maybe not to the entire world, but it shapes what our city’s and county’s priorities are and what the future of Albert Lea and Freeborn County is. These decisions affect all of us. Some decisions matter much more than others, but if you aren’t involved and involved on a regular basis, these decisions get made, moved forward, occur, and then you are left to complain with no impact.

I urge you to get involved in our community today. How can you get involved? Attend a local political party meeting.  Attend a city council meeting. Join a local volunteer board. Watch the meetings on TV. Write a letter to the local paper. Email your city council or county board member with your opinion. Ask their opinion. Open a discussion. You don’t have to have a strong opinion. I often ask questions because I don’t know the facts that our elected representatives know. I don’t know the history of many of the issues being discussed.

You might learn things you like, or you might learn things that really upset you. My belief is that as you become more involved, you will want to become more involved. Our local leaders need our input.  They need to know if we support their decisions. We are blessed to have many great people who care very much about the future of Albert Lea and Freeborn County.

The city and county can always use a few more.

If you are interested in becoming more involved with the local Republican Party, please email me at brian.hensley@outlook.com.

 

Brian Hensley is a volunteer with the Freeborn County Republican Party and local financial adviser with Intego Financial Group.