Do you feel like nothing will ever change? Do you feel like the people in power have always been in power and always will? Do you feel like it is a dog eat dog world in Arcadia Valley, with the piranhas of privilege eating its prey? Growing up in Middlebrook, I knew there were class differences in our community, but as a kid, you dont really pay much attention to that. Also, Brown Shoe Factory, shops downtown, and the mines pumped much needed dollars in our community. Dollars we no longer have. However, as time went by, and things got tougher, and the pie got smaller, I felt the squeeze. I was lucky though, half my life was in Texas with my mom, half in St. Louis with my dad, until I settled in with my grandparents and then, finally, I graduated from AV. I lived like there was no tomorrow because it seemed like there really was no tomorrow. At least for people like me. No matter how much success I might have, I still face prejudice because of my class. People who called me white trash and treated me with disrespect, some of them are still in power. I see how they look at me, even though I have a PhD in hand and I verge on respectibility. Why am I being so candid? Because I know that the power structure that exists in our community is partly rooted in the dominance of our largest employer, the school. This isnt even the schools fault. They provide good jobs to so many good people, with good hearts. But unchecked power begets tyranny, isolation, and fear. I had to leave the Valley after years of playing in bands because there was no way for me to make a respectable living. Job after job I applied to was given to someone who knew someone or was someone. I was on the outside looking in. People who grow up like me dont often vote. They accept that this is how it always has been and this it is how it always will be. Wonder why it only takes 300 or so votes to win a school board election? Wonder why it seems the only people who run for these positions have relatives at the school? Because the average person in our Valley is either secure and safe in their relative prosperity or they are so down and out they say why bother. I did my dissertation on being not qwhite in America. What does that mean? It means being poor, marginalized, and forgotten all because of your class. It is being rural and ignored. It is being fed up with the system and believing there isnt anything you can do to change it. The last year or so I have worked with an organization called the RVRA to help economically develop our area. Because of luck, circumstance and the recognition of an opportunity, we saw an opening to bring hope to our community. We saw an opportunity to bring Resurrection to the Valley. I wonder what my teenage self would have thought about this goal after my grandpa died and everything seemed hopeless and I watched my Gram work so hard everyday to make sure I was okay. I wonder what I would have done if I knew Resurrection was coming to Arcadia. I cant even imagine. Maybe I would have been cynical and firm in my belief that nothing would ever change and that the same people in charge would always be in power. Maybe I would always feel like I was on the outside looking in. So what am I going all around the teacup for? I am running for school board based on the idea that change is possible. I know that a number of you feel like I did growing up. You may think that the only way your child could ever prosper would be to leave, like I had to do, but you dont want to them to leave this beautiful Valley. You may think this is how it always has been, this is how it always will be, and so I just got to think about myself, my own, and what I can get today. Perhaps, because of a lack of evidence that anything will ever be different, you may think voting wont do any good. And maybe you think, who cares who is on school board anyway? Or you believe there is no way this guy from Middlebrook, even if he has a PhD, would ever get elected, much less do any good. Or you might even think I have gone over to the other side of prosperity, living a charmed life and have forgot about where I came from. I am trying to say that if the power structure of the school is a large part of why certain class differences exist, then getting me on the school board matters. And it matters so much that there are a lot of people afraid I am going to get in and maybe shake things up. Of course, there also are a number of people that really do hope that I can shake things up to help resurrect the Valley. People dont let go of power easily. Sometimes you have to pry it out of their hands. In democracy, we have a way to wrestle power from those who might not otherwise let go of it. We do so with our votes. Maybe it doesnt always feel like this, but your vote can be revolutionary. I am not asking you to vote for me and give me the power just so I can join the elite and fit in. I am asking for your vote because I can be your voice at the table. I am asking your vote so I can represent so many people in our community who feel ignored. I know a number of you feel like you cant speak up for fear your children might become targets. You want to like my campaign page but dont want anyone to know. On Tuesday, you can cast your ballot in secret and raise your voice at the same time. I am asking you to vote for me because you think I will help with the resurrection of the Valley. I am asking for your vote because I believe EVERY KID COUNTS. I am asking you to believe EVERY VOTE COUNTS. Vote McCarter for AV School Board Tuesday April 8 at your local precinct.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 01:58:56 +0000
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