SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 3, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/8/19
In this edition:
*Representing the Rural Folks
*Congratulations Becky!
*Agreeing With Trump?
*Picking Your Battles
*Did You Know?
*Representing the Rural Folks
If you paid any attention to the recent special election, you know that one candidate ran on the idea that rural voters are “unrepresented”. Obviously, many rural voters agreed with this; rural precincts voted for the losing candidate at a 72% clip. This is personally troubling to me on two levels:
First,I grew up way out in the country, on a gravel road, a few miles from the nearest paved road. I rode the school bus 40 minutes each way. We had a party line phone. Rather than buy eggs at the store, we gathered them from a cousin’s hens. Though we didn’t use them, our house had an outhouse, a summer kitchen, a cistern, and a root cellar.
BOTH SIDES of my Mom’s family have Heritage Farms - 150 years in the same family. My family has been farming the same area since before Iowa was a state!
As a young person, I did just about every type of farm work. I baled hay, walked beans, hayed horses, picked sweet corn, detassled corn, moved cattle, loaded hogs, and picked apples, just to name a few. I know a thing or two about growing up rural!
Secondly, I am pretty proud of the things we have accomplished during my time on the Board of Supervisors. I am happy to share these accomplishments with anyone who will listen. I find it really sad that so many rural residents would think I would be unwilling to listen to them. I get very few calls, really. And only a small percentage of those come from rural residents.
Look – I cannot address your concerns if I don’t know what they are! If you have a question or concern, please call me! I can be reached at rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us, or by phone at 319-356-6000 (office) or 319-354-7199 (home). We may not agree on every issue, but I want to know what you think.
*Congratulations Becky!
Becky Mills is retiring after over 30 years of service to the Johnson County Department of Public Health. Hard working, detail oriented, and fun to be around, Becky is one of my favorite people in Johnson County government.
Thanks, Becky, for all your years of service, and congratulations on your retirement! You will be missed!
*Agreeing With Trump?
It doesn’t happen very often, but I find myself in agreement with Donald Trump on one issue: Let’s bring some troops home!
The US somehow has 170,000 active duty military troops in about 150 of the 200 countries on planet Earth. Many are engaged in hot wars. This, despite the fact that Congress has not actually declared war since WWII.
Why? Why are American troops in these places? What is the mission? How does it help the US?
I understand the argument that this announcement was managed poorly; Trump failed to include the proper people in his plans, and they should have been consulted before withdrawals were announced. It should come as no surprise that even on the rare occasion where he gets one right, the execution is poor. But don’t let the means distract from the ends! Withdrawals are good!
When we pull out, do we leave behind a mess? Yep. That is what happens when we exercise military power in foreign countries. It SHOULD serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t go into most of these countries in the first place! I can only hope we learn some lessons from this, though I doubt it.
Are we abandoning these countries? I would urge we replace each soldier 1:1 with a member of the diplomatic corps. (Trump will never do that!) We can play a role in helping other countries. But not at gunpoint.
*Picking Your Battles
I often hear people make the statement, “You have to pick your battles.” Heck, I sometimes offer that advice to others. But what do we really mean when we say this?
I know there are people who will stand on a certain principle or principles no matter what. They will NEVER let it go.
While this can be admired, it can also be harmful. What if maintaining a certain principle guaranteed your mother would die a painful death? Would you still stand strong?
Yes, that example is quite severe. But “always” is a strong word! Thinking you are principled and being principled are not the same thing.
I deal with many other people in my professional life who are forceful advocates for certain positions, but are not very effective. Why? Because they do not know when to pick their battles.
In the immortal words of They Might Be Giants – “I can shake my tiny fist and swear I wasn’t wrong. But what’s the point in arguing when you’re all alone?”
On the other hand, too many folks defer TOO often. I would argue that most folks do not pick ENOUGH battles! Far too many people fail to stand on principle far too often.
Where is the happy medium? When should we pick our battles? The answer, as you might guess, is “it depends”.
In the past two weeks, I have been charged with not knowing when to pick my battles. I have also been charged with not standing strong enough for the things in which I believe.
I try to strike a balance. I don’t know if I’m doing it well or not. So – readers… what are your thoughts? Do we need more standing on principle, more negotiation and cooperation, or does it “depend”? How do you decide?
*DID YOU KNOW? The month of January is named after the Roman God Janus, who is the God of beginning and transitions or often called the God of doorways. Having 2 faces, he watches over the past as well as the future.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 3:47 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home