The Iowa I once knew

Growing up in Iowa in the ’50s and ’60s and living in a progressive city like Cedar Rapids was educational, fun, adventurous, and it was always changing for the better. It had a strong civic sense, a good group of business leaders, a vital downtown and its educational system was one of the tops in the nation.

It was a time when local grocery stores dotted the diverse neighborhoods and when Armstrong’s Department Store along with Killians, Clancy’s, the Roosevelt Hotel, the Butterfly Cafe and Witwer Farms prospered. Times were simpler, and people were more willing to sit down and talk things over.

I come from a family who emigrated from Lebanon (Greater Syria) at the time, and they, along with many other first- and second-generational immigrants, were hard workers, believers in the American dream but still had much of the Old World in their minds and hearts.

They are very much part of the fabric that was woven and evolved when they brought their values and adapted new business and social norms to their everyday life. They became successful, and the community prospered. Go to The History Center and learn about their humble origins. You will gain the lessons of the past.

I am writing this today as I am concerned about my native Iowa as I contemplate the state of affairs it is in while I live my life in Minnesota.

After reading a recent editorial page in The Gazette, Todd Dorman’s article about the derecho, The Gazette staff’s editorial on Iowa’s challenges for the next 10 years and an opinion piece about “What Happened to Common Sense?,” I do not know where Iowa’s once progressive spirit went to.

Are things in Iowa really that bad? Is the Iowa of welcoming refugees and immigrants from far and wide a mirage? Is the governor for real in her stand against the recommended COVID mitigation measures or the CDC’s plea for masking as a protection? Does the Republican Party really believe that Trump is their savior and that all he believes in is for the good of the country?

As I have lived abroad and in various states and cities, I have gained an appreciation of both cities and states that work well and are in fact global in their endeavors. I have lived in Minnesota for over 40 years, frequently visiting Iowa. I know that Iowa can do better if they gain back some of their prudent ways of finding compromise, of talking with each other and not to each other and in keeping extreme thoughts and ideas out of the public discourse.

Can it regain its footing by campaigning for open, civilized debate and public negotiations on important issues? Are we one nation or state anymore, and can we go forward for the whole of society instead of pleasing just half? How do Iowans achieve these worthy goals?

I do not have the answers but suggest Iowans go back to the future by visiting the history of how Iowa once worked for all. We did it in a different era, but you can do it again by electing stronger leaders to set high, achievable goals and less loyal to the whims of Washington.

What really happened to Iowa and what’s happened to common sense, as one of your readers suggests so well, is open to public debate. So for the good of your state’s future, start the process now. History can repeat itself.

Kamel Aossey is a native Iowan who lives in Minnetonka, Min.