I hope citizens across the political spectrum listened to the stand-out message from President Biden's State of the Union address last night. "Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict gets us nowhere," Biden said.
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN'S FIRST
Working Together
Like many in Michigan's First District, I worry about my country. Can we work together to solve our problems? When half of the leadership offered ovations and others jeered, our national divisions were on full display during President Biden's SOTU address.
Is this what America needs? We need problem-solving, regardless of the source. We need leadership for all. We need unity, not divisive rhetoric. We must work together to address the needs of the 1st District, Michigan, and the Nation. It isn't a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate and President. It's the People's House, Senate, and President. The same goes for our State, county, and city governments.
Throughout it all, we can never forget ordinary everyday people — the rural worker, our seniors, and our youth. We need to invest in people, protect our environment, and celebrate each other's individuality. We must embrace America's multiculturalism and our distinct vantage points. We must remember the role of government at all levels — local, state, and federal — is to serve, protect, and provide for the general well-being of its citizens.
The people of Michigan's 1st District embody resiliency. Politically, we are as diverse as anywhere in the United States, but our commonalities allow us to show the Nation how united we can be.
In Northern Michigan and the UP, we work hard and play hard, and we're all intricately linked with the hardships and successes of each other. We tackle problems with grit, strength, and loyalty to our friends, family, neighbors, and communities. If our representatives legislated with the same fiercely independent spirit as their constituents, the strength of our district would rival anywhere in the country.
