We’ll get through this—but we don’t want to go back to “normal” when it’s all said and done. We need to come back bigger and better.
Unless you were alive in the early 1900s (and I doubt you were), then we are living in the most tumultuous times you’ve ever seen. We’re living through the political unrest of the 1960s, in the midst of a pandemic not seen since the 1910s, led by the worst Administration in living memory.
But there is a silver lining to times like these: people are paying attention, and people are ready for deep, systematic change. At similar times of upheaval in our Nation’s history, men and women with clear vision, good intentions, and strong hearts have found that silver lining…and fought for a better future.
So:
Now is the time for us to make sure that hardworking Texans—not corporations—are able to harvest the fruits of their labor, and to ensure that everyone has access to housing, essentials, and a good education.
Now is the time to reset the relationship between Texans and their government: to ensure that law enforcement officers respect the laws they’ve been entrusted to enforce; to encourage rather than repress electoral democracy.
Now is the time to end prohibition on a substance that is less harmful than alcohol, and use the new revenue to fund long-overdue innovations in how we educate young people, and how we get around the state.
If we do none of these things—if we don’t even try—then the opportunity will be lost. The silver lining will fade. Texas will be, as a state, diminished and defeated.
So when you head to the polls, vote for big ideas. Vote for kindness, compassion, and generosity. Vote, if you would, for me—and I’ll do all I can to find the silver lining and bring Texas back from these tough times bigger, better, and stronger than ever.