House Journal: Page 1043: Wednesday, April 9, 2003
was from someone to the effect that it was the preferred use for that paper. I don't
believe that anymore if anybody's listening.
Those years came and went all too fast. In the midst of rather extensive change of the
state. They were learning years for me. They contributed greatly to my ability to find
gainful employment in the years ahead and to a great degree those years helped me
become the person that I am today, good or bad. And for that I am personally,
extremely grateful. Politics is an honorable profession, an honorable calling and let no
one tell you anything different. It's filled with honorable people, men and women who
clearly are not in it for the money, but who truly wish to make Iowa an ever better
place to live. We are fortunate; you and I, each one for being able to call this beautiful
land our home. Some by birth, some by chance, all by choice.
I've had an over forty year long love affair with this place. In my brief time on this
earth, I've had the opportunity to visit all fifty states and over three dozen countries.
Honestly, I can find some reason why I'd be able to live, even enjoy living, in every one
of those places. But nothing compares to Iowa. And I often find myself asking why,
what is it that makes Iowa, in at least my mind, so special. It's not the winters, which
can be brutal, but at the same time, can be incredibly beautiful. It's not the summers
which can be hot as an oven, yet as inviting as any place on earth I've ever been. And
we don't have the mountains and oceans of a lot of states. So what is it? Why do I love
this place so much? I've come to believe that it's the people. The genius of those who
call Iowa their home. It's the concern we share for one another, for our past, our
present, our future. It's the care we share for the land and for all our natural
resources. And it's the way we dig in and fight for what we believe in. How we can
stand touching noses, as Meredith Wilson said, for a week at a time and never see eye
to eye. He had to have this place in mind when he wrote those words. While at the
same time each of us will put out our hearts, our souls, our own possessions to lend a
hand to anyone in need. It's no wonder why groups like United Way set records year
after year all across Iowa. We're a people of faith, diverse faiths who seek guidance
each in our own way and who try to live our lives in response to the guidance we
receive. We're a people of hope who, while playing to the past, reach out to the future
with the knowledge that somehow, some way, what lies ahead of us will be better than
what has already come. We're people of love who care deeply about our country, our
state, our family, our friends, our neighbors and our God. All this is what I believe
brought all of you to public service. You care about what happens in your collective
careers. And in your collective caring you care about what happens to Iowa, because
Iowa is a treasure worth preserving.
All this is what brought this current legislature together this January. To deal with
some of the toughest issues this state may ever face. And to do it in the most bi-
partisan fashion I've ever seen in my thirty-five years of following this process. All this
is what allowed me to say yes to the governor when he called this past winter and
asked me to head up the Department of Economic Development. It wasn't sanity, it
was a belief in this state. And a desire to want to make a difference.
The problems we face as a people are huge. But the spirit of Iowa, Republicans and
Democrats, rural and urban, east, west, north, south, will lead us to solutions which
will make life better for all of us and our children. Why do I believe this? Because we
always have and we always will. It's what we do best as Iowans.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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