While walking in the forest, an acorn falls on Chicken Little’s head and the chicken is so alarmed that she believes the “sky is falling”. In a panicked frenzy, she runs through the forest telling all the other animals that the sky is falling and that they need to beware. The other animals follow Chicken Little frantically trying to find a place of safety from the horrific event that is sure to happen. A wily fox convinces the hysterical crowd that he knows where there is a place of safety and to follow him. Out of unreasonable fear and terror, they follow the fox into his cave where they are all devoured.

This children’s tale is a perfect allegory for every horrible, hateful act that’s taken place in history, but also what is happening today—everywhere.

Passing on rumors, unreasonable and unfounded fears turns us into babbling amnesiacs—we forget to stop, think, investigate the facts and evidence and then come to intelligent conclusions. Examine the source of the information. And most importantly—examine the source’s motivation—selfish gain or public interest?

Unfortunately, some unscrupulous individuals in our world, capitalize on our fear that, indeed, “the sky is falling”. They have learned the power of crowd psychology, the flavor of that intoxicating old time tent revival, whipping the masses into a whirling passionate frenzy.

Regrettably, most of these individuals do so, not out of unselfish public interest, but for a more insidious and self-seeking reason, that has little to do with the people they claim to serve and more to do with their own ego. We can hear them on the airwaves, on television, and even on the Mall in Washington.

Don’t be manipulated like Chicken Little. You just might meet that same fate in the fox’s cave.

I want to remind everyone that the reason we have these redistricting hearings is to adhere to principles of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 1981, we have to make sure that no groups will be disadvantaged because of the redistricting boundaries.

We must go back to basics and remember why there is government—it is for people and their issues and problems, and solving those problems. It is not for partisan battles.  

Somehow, over time, we have forgotten this. We have been so lucky with Rep. Jones, Sen Duncan, Rep. Heflin. Thank you for your service. But I worry about the future of political service. I want to urge those who are on the redistricting committee—please forget about partisan politics—think instead of the people that you have pledged to represent.

We have to remember that each community, both rural and urban has its own unique flavor, its own issues, and we must remain diligent in creating legislative districts that serve those differences. To put large urban areas at the center of a district, ignores the unique issues of the smaller rural communities. To snake boundaries like a river through counties with no rhyme or reason is not good representation.

I have learned as both a parent and as an educator, that when you have two spoiled children fighting over one toy, you take the toy away. Jeff Wentworth, a Republican Senator, in 2009, attempted to pass a bill which would take redistricting out of the hands of politicians and into the hands of a bipartisan committee. This bill did not pass by one vote. Thirteen other states have done this, thus freeing up lawmakers for more important work that serves their constituents. I do hope that a new version of this bill passes in Texas before we have to revisit this issue in 2020. We need to take the toy away.

I would like to see lines across the Panhandle drawn more like my District 84, sensible, compact and competitive. But I have to say that the huge amputation that runs through the center of town, which was drawn to both prevent the election of one candidate and facilitate the election of another is not the way that representation should be drawn. Everyone knows full well why this was done, but no one talks about it. It’s the elephant in the room that everyone chooses to ignore.

If you cannot put aside differences to serve the people you pledged to serve, then shame on you, but most of all, shame on all of us for continuing to tolerate it.

As a counselor, I know that change, even when positive, is difficult. As I work with clients everyday, I realize their struggles to enact changes in their lives.

We are all creatures of comfort, predictability, and habit. When change happens, we are not in control and that’s what’s frightening for us.

But, we must realize that things change DAILY. Everything is ephemeral, nothing stays the same–we grow older, seasons change, children grow up, parents, partners, and pets die, leaders change, our financial circumstances evolve and all of us this takes place gradually, slowly, we’re not even aware of it.

As we incorporate change into political and social issues, people’s discontent with accomplished change is understandable. One of the failures of change is because we can’t agree on what “change” should look like. This is why the concept of “change” has failed. We have to visualize what it looks like, what it feels like, in every detail…and we must ALL agree upon it.

To have a shared vision, we must ask four simple questions:
1. What do you want?
2. What are you doing to do to get what you want?
3. Is it working?
4. If it’s not, change what you’re doing OR change what you want.

This is WHY “wholesale” change doesn’t work…we must have a clear and SHARED vision of what we want. Until we can agree on our VISION, change will be a contentious and combative issue. It’s time to unite, it’s time to come to the middle. It’s what I want so much. It’s what I work for each day.

Yes, we have the Texas Council on Competitive Government but it currently only oversees 5 (that’s right ONLY FIVE) of the thousands of outsourcing contracts. Texas has had its share of “boondoggles” that have cost YOU money–Accenture LLP involved w/HHS, a nameless Spanish company that was to oversee the TransTexas corridor, Evercare of North Texas that was supposed to provide care for the chronically ill elderly AND didn’t and we were paying them $1.8 MILLION per month–how many more of these inefficient contracts are out there and we don’t know about?

We need more efficient ways of monitoring these contracts–I would like to have an agency or committee created to do JUST that!

Everyone is for more EFFICIENT government aren’t they?

This would be a first step!

I had a long speech prepared, but ended up giving bits and pieces of this speech in 24 different gatherings on Friday and Saturday. I loved speaking to people at the convention because one of my intentions for running for office is to inspire people to do things in their own way and with their own talents to make their community kinder, happier, unified, compassionate places.

Here is a copy of that speech:

My name is Carol Morgan and I’m your candidate for the Texas House, District 84. I’m proud to be from Lubbock, Texas. Home of Buddy Holly, Land of the flat open plain, we have more sky, where we can see clearly every sunrise and every sunset—a metaphor for all the possibilities—an uncluttered vision available for anyone with a dream. It’s incomprehensible beauty that is matched ONLY by the beauty of its people.

 In a time of such derisiveness and cynicism, I’m constantly asked why I would want to run for political office?

The reasons are so clear to me, just five words: I WANT TO BELIEVE AGAIN. 

 I want to believe again—to regain the visions and dreams of our ancestors who came from the political chaos of Europe, the famines of Ireland and the interiors of Mexico. They had GRIT and they had GANAS—“el fuego en el vientre”—fire in the belly-and they tamed a wild land into a place of freedom and noble possibilities.

I want to believe again. I think about the noble statesmen of Texas past—Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, Pete Laney, George Mahon, and Ann Richards. Certainly they made political deals—but they kept their people, their constituents, at the forefront of every deal. I want to be one of those. I want to believe again.

 Right now, Texas is a state of many contrasts. We are #1 in business in the United States. And I am steadfastly committed to maintaining that honor—but we are also #1 in child hunger, #1 in the amount of uninsured, #2 in the number of students who drop out of high school, I want to believe again. I’ll never forget the words of Barbara Jordan at the 1976 Democratic National Convention. “Equality for all, privilege for none.” I was twenty-three years old, I had voted for Richard Nixon in my first election as a voter and I was discouraged, disillusioned and worst of all, cynical. I didn’t want to be cynical. I wanted to believe with every part of my heart that people were at the heart of every governmental action. Those words resonated within me and they still do so today.

Yes, we have challenges, but I want to believe our difficulties are mere opportunities—to get it RIGHT, once and for all. I want to believe again. I want Texas to be #1 in opportunity—whether your name is Huang, Haddad, Kapoor or Singh, Gonzales or Smith. And it shouldn’t matter if you are Stephen or Stephanie either.

I want to believe again, that’s why my campaign is based on education, economic development and energy–these three pillars will maintain Texas’ greatness and honor Her to become even better.

 I want to believe again—that we can be a state of two parties that work together in a spirit of cooperation and mediation keeping our people FIRST in everything we do. I will work hard to make that happen. 

 I want to believe again. Public opinion of politicians is at an all time low, but I want all of us to change those attitudes—by having our words match our actions, so we can transform skepticism into trust and bring back nobility, morality and ethics to Texas. All it will take is three seats, three seats to make everyone believe again.

I want to believe again. And I want you to believe it, too. Thank you.

I think back on my heroes in both my childhood and my young adult years.

There was Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan and my personal favorite of all–Gandhi.

All of these heroes made political deals…probably better than anyone, but they were different from other “deal makers” in that they were guided by a “northstar” mentality. Before we had GPS and even compasses—all travelers used the north star as their guide on their journeys—because the north star was fixed, never moved, you could always count on it and all the other stars turn toward it. Nobility, honor and service and people were their north star.

That’s what missing in government today and as a result, we’ve lost our way….

When I think of the things that are happening in Texas in today, Gandhi’s brief quote from his weekly prayer
meetings at Birla House in Delhi in 1947 come to mind: “Today we have lost our senses.” And we have, we have lost our senses. Everything that’s being done and said today in Texas is guided by anger, fear and greed. We hear our governor alluding to cessation from the United States of America, and we see the State Board Of Education taking Thomas Jefferson out of our History curriculum. What’s happened to us?

Texas’ statistics and ratings PROVE that we have lost our way!

We 49/50 in dropouts
We’re 44/50 in educational funding
We’re 48/50 in health and human services
We have one of the highest rates of citizens without health insurance.
Texas is one of the worst industrial polluters in the U.S.
Texas is number one in the nation for outsourcing state functions to private companies.
Texas has the highest homeowner’s insurance rates in the nation.

Gandhi was right—Today we’ve lost our senses”
Texas is sinking…save her!
I don’t want Texas to be guided by anger, fear and greed, I want Texas to be guided by those higher principles, those noble principles like compassion, reconciliation, courage and service to others.

I’m tired of these empty political phrases we keep hearing over and over and over:
Instead of “traditional values”, why don’t say “creating value”?
Instead of “maintaining our way of life”, why don’t we say “creating new possibilities”?

The economy of Texas is important and I mean to balance our budget in a fair and equitable manner BUT not on the backs of others like senior citizens and children. That’s what happened in 2003—both in redistricting and in balancing the budget—it was a blood sport of selfish motives based on mean-spirited principles.

My opinion is this : If you enrich the lives of your people, then the other riches will follow!

These are things I want for Texas:
I want quality public education beginning with Pre-Kindergarten.
I want to democratize higher education—whether it’s community college or a traditional university education. People’s desire to learn shouldn’t be limited by their pocketbook and parents shouldn’t have to face a lifetime of debt to send their students to college.
I want a new standard of ethics created for elected officials by closing that revolving door between office holders and lobbyists. Personal gain should never be equated with public service.
I want health care to be a right not a privilege.
I want to see more women in the political arena. Less than 20% of political officeholders are women. We need women in public service. They bring another viewpoint—a viewpoint that is nurturing and open to mediation and reconciliation. If I’m elected in November, I will be the first woman from this region to be elected to state office—that gives me reason to cheer, not for me, but for all the young women and girls that are behind me, this is to prove to them that I what I told them all these years is really true—that anything you want to do is possible with determination and hard work!!
I want economic growth that is based on industries that helps people and meeting their needs: biomedical for those with chronic diseases and technical innovations to improve quality of life for people and especially, for our environment.
Without these things, we will create a whole generation of “underclass” of Texans who will be at the mercy of those above them—and they will grow up angry, resentful, and devoid of hope and opportunity.

We must have a new human revolution in government in Texas. We must be advocates for each other.
People are more important than highways.
People are more than business profits.
People are more important than monuments and renovated governor’s mansions.
Government IS people and that’s why we need representatives who are advocates for people.

So I’m your candidate!! And I’m hands down the best candidate! I really believe that in my heart!
We don’t need more businessmen or accountants in Texas government.
We need a smart public servant who cares about and knows people,—what motivates them, how to talk to them
I’m more ethical and I work harder and I am more energetic–just ask anyone who has worked with me…once I get an idea or a cause in my heart, I am like a WOMAN POSSESSED!
My whole life has been about service to others–in my twenty eight years as an educator–both as a teacher and then as a counselor, in my career counseling practice, in my writing and in my speaking career and as a volunteer and one who sits on many advisory boards in Lubbock and in the state of Texas! I believe in helping people.
And because I have the desire—the ganas—the el fuego en el vientre—fire in the belly, passion, enthusiasm, and  determination.
We must recapture that idea of the north star like our great leaders of the past–it’s unwavering, it’s constant and it shows us the way.

I want to be your representative in the Texas House but I need your help—I must have your help, I cannot do it alone. I need your commitment, I need you to work for me, don’t wait to be asked, just do it. I need your money. I promise me that if elect me to the Texas House, District 84, I will not forget who sent me there.

Gracias, Thank you, and Namaste

Do you remember the story of the Little Red Hen? She was friends with a lazy dog, a sleepy cat, and a noisy yellow duck. She wanted to bake some bread, but none of her barnyard friends wanted to help plant, harvest, grind the wheat or even make the bread.

Many of us are somewhat like the Red Hen’s passive barnyard friends.
We’re all waiting for someone to save us from whatever it is that we think is difficult, unjust or just downright frightening. And we wait and talk and wait and talk. And we do more talking than anything else.

The reality is this: We don’t need anyone to save us. We have the ability to save ourselves—by doing something instead of talking. What you do can be big or small—it’s your choice. You could run for office or volunteer—just take some constructive action.

I’m weary of political rhetoric and labels—liberal, conservative, traditional values, freedoms–words so often repeated that we employ them out of habit. The words I want to hear are cooperation, problem solving, creativity, compassion, and tolerance.

We can’t expect leaders to do everything for us, but they should inspire us to take positive personal action. We can blame our leaders, but the truth is, we must share some of the blame as well.

I hope you’ll pardon me for ending this letter so quickly, but I have something to do.

Something is missing in government today.

I think back on my childhood and my memories as a young adult and those individuals who literally “carved out” my goals and dreams.
There was Lyndon Johnson, Bobby Kennedy, Mother Teresa and Gandhi–Mr. Gandhi is my ultimate hero. Later, I deeply admired Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan and lastly, Benazir Bhutto who gave her life in her attempt to stabilize her beloved Pakistan.
All of these heroes made political deals…probably better than anyone, but they were different from other “deal makers” of today in that they were guided by a “northstar mentality”.

Before we had GPS and before compasses—all travelers used the north star as their guide on their journeys—because the north star was fixed, never moved–you could always count on the north star. 

All of my heroes were guided by nobility, honor and service. They possessed a strong sense of ethics and a genuine interest in people.
That’s what missing in government today—the lack of a northern star.

Confucius, who lived five hundred years before Christ, understood the significance of the northstar and it’s metaphor to leadership.
“He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place
and all the stars turn towards it.”
In William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar—Caesar remarks: “I am as constant as the northern star whose true fixed and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament.”

Why is it that I believe we have no leaders who are guided by the metaphor of the northstar?
There’s plenty of evidence that proves that.

If we examine statistics about Texas and its ratings, both high and low, we see our true priorities.

Our low numbers say this:
We’re 49/50 in dropouts.
We’re 44/50 in educational funding.
We’re 48/50 in health and human services.
We have one of the highest rates of citizens without health insurance (and of those so called “lazy uninsured Texans” 76% hold down one or more jobs).

Texas has some high numbers though:
Texas is one of the worst polluters in the U.S.
Texas is #1 in the nation for outsourcing state functions to private companies.
Texas has the highest homeowner’s insurance rates in the nation.

The things that really matter, making sure our children have opportunities, taking care of our seniors, and being good stewards of the environment–we’re at the bottom.
The things that are frivolous and depict greediness–we are at the top.
Is this the kind of state that we want to be?

We keep hearing the political catch phrase “traditional values” over and over and over. But when I look at Texas’ statistics–are these the values that we call traditional? I don’t think it is.
We keep other down educationally. We abandon the helpless—children, elderly, and animals.
There is a difference between having traditional values and having a northern star.
Having a northern star is not having traditional values; it’s having your words match your actions.
What does this say about our state? It says we have no northstar.

I began to reflect on my candidate mission—what’s MY northern star? If I want to lead, what’s my northern star?
Education is the foundation for everything.
When I look back on my life–what if I hadn’t experienced the richness of education? I would have missed the words of Baudelier, the many inspirational books that held those poignantly beautiful universal truths, the poetry of Tagore and Rumi, the plays of O’Neill and Tennessee Wiliams, the archetypal heroes of Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, who received “the call” to heroism, left the comforts of their home on a pilgrimage that transformed them and upon their return to home these quintessential heroes were enabled to do great things for the people of their homeland.

Inspiration was the thing I acquired from education. Education has been my muse for life.

These are the things I want for this generation and for future generations.
Without these things, we will create a whole generation of “underclass”–individuals who don’t understand the underlying universal truths of Shakespeare or even the amusing truths of Jack Keroac.
Without these things, how we can even understand ourselves?? And our behavior? or define our dreams?
Without education, a whole generation will be devoid of opportunity and most importantly, inspiration.

We all need to be inspired again. One of my favorite words in the English language is the word “inspiration”.
I studied Latin for eight years and it’s assisted me in understanding language, the true semantics of words and their original meanings and the evolution of words as we understand them today—and that’s why I love the word “inspiration”. That word…”inspiration” comes from Latin—”inspirare”…which literally means to put breath into something. When you breathe into something it means you give LIFE . So when we inspire –we’re giving life to something–whether it’s a people or an idea.

We have to have that noble northstar that heroes of the past used as their guide.
Good leaders get things done for people. Great leaders inspire people to do things for themselves and others.
Great leaders have a personal northern star—it’s unwavering, it’s constant and it shows us the way.

I hope that I’ll be your leader with the noble northern star.

We should all be grateful for adversity in our lives because it helps us discover talents we didn’t know we possessed. So in that sense, the challenge is turned into a blessing. Thousands of year ago, Homer, the ancient Greek philosopher, gifted us with a thought that remains true even today: “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.” Horace 65-68 B.C.

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting Colorado then you’ve seen those pristine clear mountain streams. The rocks in those streams are some of the world’s most beautiful stones. They tumbled down the mountainside to fall into the water by unseen forces—rain, snow, and earth’s imperceptible tremors. Those rocks that fell into the water by accident are each unique—some small, some large, different shapes and beautiful colors. All of the myriad of shapes and sizes and colors were created by the force of the water that flowed over time—changing the stone’s appearance little by little. Some of the rocks that rolled down didn’t make it into the water. They’re gray and ugly and have no distinguishable beauty and they sit alone unchanged and stagnant.

We’re just like those river stones. Our shapes, sizes and colors have been changed by the waters of life’s struggles and those struggles have made us more colorful and beautiful—unlike the ugly gray stones that were left unaffected by the stream.

What does this have to do with my District 84 campaign?

We have a lot of challenges in Texas to overcome in 2011, but we need to “reframe” the way we view those challenges. We need to think of our troubles as an opportunity to get “things” RIGHT. If we didn’t have these challenges, we might have never even thought about changing things. This quandary we’re in is an opening for fortuitous opportunity!!

We have a chance to reinvent our educational opportunities in Texas. We have an opening for realigning the way we do government. We have an opportunity to trust each other again!! We have an opportunity to send a positive message to Washington—LOOK HERE Y’ALL–this is the way Texas does things—watch us WORK–in times of trouble, we unite and work together—we don’t tear each other apart. Texas people have always been the strongest of people—fiercely independent pioneers who overcame every negative predicament and came back more resolute and “refueled” than before.

I’m not so naïve to think it will be easy—the first task is going to be to set priorities and then make sure that everyone is on board with those priorities. Then we need to align our actions with those priorities. It can’t be a band-aid and it can’t be a kneejerk response—it has to be ever so thoughtful, keeping in mind the future consequences of the changes we make. Just like a doctor with his/her patient, we need to treat the disease and not the symptoms.

Be thankful for our challenges in 2011—this is our opportunity to become a better state! And I hope to be a part of moving forward with those opportunities for all of us! My excitement grows everyday with every person I talk to, every new friend I make and every organization I speak to. I hope you catch my excitement and let me be your public servant in the Texas House