A former Iowan looks for answers

As I was born raised and educated in Iowa from the mid 40s through the 60s I look back to the Iowa I once knew and the good people I met and concluded that Iowa was a great place to grow up with a solid Midwestern work ethic, good government and strong civic leadership. Having said that, I am elated and lucky to live my life in Minnesota.

The political event that took place last week with the announcement that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would become the Democratic nominee for vice president was overwhelmingly positive. It was welcome news for progressives who look forward and not backward to the next generation of political leaders representing all of us not just some of us.

We are two states: Iowa and Minnesota joined together by geography and majestic rivers, but divided by a political culture in Iowa I do not recognize or perhaps do not understand. I don’t know why Iowa has become an extreme case of state government making bad political and social choices for people's health and education, then compromising those who are less fortunate with punishing laws and archaic standards. Were Iowa schools so bad that we had to create another very expensive educational system draining resources and funding from the public schools. Legislative efforts to purge school libraries and ban certain books is a throwback to McCarthyism.

From your governor to and through your legislative body Iowa is misleading what government is for and what it does or does not do to improve your quality of life, family and their economic future.

We are not different people as we have more in common than we know. But we choose a society and laws in Minnesota less defined or burden by the political machine and more defined by our diversity of culture, history and what people of our state are demanding. Yes we are progressive or liberal- so what? The end result is a state that is successful as defined by our national standing in education, business innovation, health, technological efforts and in helping fellow citizens that lack resources to improve their chances of becoming more productive. We do not make rules that are obstacles or barriers to success just because some of us are different or come from diverse backgrounds or are immigrants or Native Americans.

We are moving ahead with our agenda and a new revitalized Democratic way of life. We are not interested in pushing or exporting our standards south to other. But watch as we continue to grow, learn new ways of adopting to the changing and challenging world and in the end prosper. Our government in this state works for and with our citizens, not against them. We are not utopia, we are not in Iowa (or heaven) and we are certainly not extremist! We are here in this country and state of Minnesota to grow, prosper and give back to the community. However, it’s not our government who says what we do or how we do it when it comes down to making lifetime decisions, that is our call and our responsibility.

Kamel Aossey is a Cedar Rapids native and son of Lebanese immigrants. He’s a marketing professional who lives in Minnetonka, Minn.