Minnesotans are Better Than Divisiveness

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the start of Minnesota's historic twenty-day state government shutdown. This regrettable occasion was much more than a minor inconvenience. We Minnesotans count on public resources like our state parks for our way of life, but our parks were closed. We count on being able to move forward with our business ventures and economic interests, but new businesses could not get the necessary permits to proceed with their activities. We count on being able to enjoy the great treasures of this state, such as our Minnesota Zoo, without having to endure uncertainty about whether they will be available. Instead, a court of law had to determine whether the zoo could remain open. The state government shutdown was not just an inconvenience. Rather, it put our traditions and our way of life in jeopardy.

This week we also celebrate the birth of our great nation. In this celebration, we remember those who founded this country and those who sacrificed then and since to maintain our freedom and our way of life. Founding a nation cannot be an easy task. History tells us about competing ideas to be considered and disagreements to be resolved. We know that the results were not perfect. So did the founders. But, they worked together and set an example for how a representative democracy can work.

As Minnesotans, we have traditions about our quality of life. Our parks, lakes, rivers, and trails provide an important, traditional way of life for Minnesotans. Hunting and fishing are so important to our legacy that our state constitution even says so. Education as a public good to preserve Minnesota's future is also part of our customs and traditions, again so much so as to be enshrined in our state constitution. Minnesotans have another important tradition: a government that works for its people. It is a shame that our leaders neglected this custom a year ago.

We will not always agree, and we don't have to. In the diverse, free society that the founders began and that so many have sacrificed to maintain, we should have differences of opinion. But, we can — we must — expect our leaders to consider the interests of all of us and work together to address our problems.

We're Minnesotans. We're Americans. We're better than divisiveness.