It wasn't the first time someone had asked me that question.
Last night I drove into downtown Allentown with no destination in mind
other than "inner city". The sun was setting, and I found a place to
park on the street (I didn't note its name). Dressed in shorts, a polo
shirt, and my Vote Scott Ott campaign visor, with a baggy pocket full
of campaign bookmarkers, I had walked less than half a block when I met
two men and a flurry of children in front of a store. As it turns out,
one man owned the store (selling the kind of shoes we used to call
sneakers, electronics and more), the second man was his friend. I
interrupted their conversation and introduced myself, handing them my
campaign bookmarker.
"What will you do for me if I vote for you?" the shop owner said. "Will you get me a grant for my store?"
I'm a bad politician.
I said (paraphrasing from memory), "The first thing I'll do for you is
put an end to the idea that public servants should hand out special
favors to people who support them."
I told him that the next thing I could "do for him" was to abolish the
idea that government is going to save you from your troubles, and to
exchange that for the idea that you are responsible and free, and that
no one cares more about your children, your business, your home and
your neighborhood than you do. In addition, no one is better equipped
to deal with the challenges of your neighborhood than you and your
neighbors. But it won't happen until you stop thinking that someone
else is to blame, or that some outside agency is going to intervene to
fix things.
He looked at me and said, "You're a Republican."
I was delighted that he associates freedom and responsibility with my
party. But frankly, my party often fails to convey this message, or to govern by the precepts we espouse. At one point, my new friend reminded
me that if we were going to reduce government-run charity, perhaps we
should stop funding failed mega-businesses. He expected to get an
argument from me. He got none.
During the course of a long, wide-ranging and invigorating discussion
they asked me about everything from my opinion of the current
president, to the morality of teen girls pushing strollers on the
streets (dressed as prostitutes), to whether the U.S. government should
pay reparations to the descendants of slaves, and how a man with a
criminal background who has cleaned up his act can get a second chance
in life.
I tell you honestly, I have not had a such an intensely practical,
intelligent discussion about political ideology and freedom with anyone
I've met at political gatherings.
These men didn't care about the horse race of my campaign or which
candidate had raised the most money. They were grappling with real life
issues, and seriously thinking through the role of government.
The shop owner had started out selling socks out of the trunk of his
car. When he made some money on that, he bought some t-shirts and
started selling them, and so on...pouring profits back into his
business. He acquired a storefront (a blessing he attributes to God),
and expanded his inventory. As we chatted, he greeted nearly everyone
who walked by his store and they all seemed to know him and like him.
It was way past sundown and he had to close up shop, but toward the end of our time he asked me my opinion of the president.
I told him I oppose almost every policy of the president's that I can
think of. However, I said that I literally wept with joy the night he
won at the thought that a black man had reached such a position in our
nation. I said that I admire the fact that our president had worked
hard, learned much, translated his skills into wealth through writing
books, married a woman and remained faithful to her, and by all
accounts is a great Daddy to his girls. I noted that his hard work,
persistence, vision, focus and sense of personal responsibility had
brought him to his current place. I only wish, I said, that he himself
would understand the elements of his success story and recommend them
to others, and that he would stop talking about Americans as if we were
victims, and stop telling people that government would solve their
problems. His message should be, "I grabbed the opportunity that
America offers to every citizen, and my diligence has been rewarded
beyond my wildest dreams. It's hard work, but it's worth the effort,
and you can do it too."
The shop owner said he would check out
my website, and asked me if he could put one of my campaign signs in his store window.
As I drove through downtown on my way home, I noticed that the porches
and sidewalks of Allentown were teeming with children, teens, and
grownups, gathered in clusters...talking, laughing, shouting.
You know, some of us reminisce about a time in American when neighbors
sat out on the porch and got to know each other. That still happens,
but not in the suburbs where many homes lack porches, and most folks
huddle on the couch, glued to some electronic distraction, isolated from their neighbors.
It was oddly comforting to see that, despite her troubles, downtown
Allentown has a sense of community that folks in the townships find
only in the corners of our memories.
Surely this bond among the people can form the foundation for a rebirth and rejuvenation of the heart of Lehigh County.
Scott Ott is a twice-weekly columnist for the Washington Examiner, co-host of Trifecta on PJTV.com, editor of the world's leading family-friendly news satire source, ScrappleFace.com, and candidate for Lehigh County Executive.