Penseys Spices weighs in on Wisconsin....viewpoint only, no advertisements
All of us who grew up in the state of Wisconsin grew up in a place we could be proud of. A strong economy based on quality public education, a university system that rivaled the nation’s best, a pro environmental voice heard around the country and around the world. And behind all this was the intentional kindness and caring of our state’s people. The Wisconsin of our youth was a gift given to us by all those who came before that we were obliged to pass on to all those who came after.
Then came the 2010 election. The Republican Party chose Wisconsin to be the test ground for all that unlimited political spending could do. The very same forces that paved the way for what happened nationally in 2016 first tested it all out here. Before the President grabbed the reins, it was our Governor testing out the attack on education, selling out the environment, and even testing the staged racism towards Native Americans. We must address what is happening in the White House, but just removing the tip of the iceberg changes pretty much nothing. For real change we must also address the source, and that’s up to us, the Wisconsin voters.
Penzeys is a Wisconsin business and a national business, too. As a 23-year-old, just starting Penzeys, I thought it would have been easier if my grandparents had chosen a city a little more in the spotlight. Today, I’m convinced if we had been planted anywhere else, finding our way to the business we’ve become would have only been harder. Human kindness really is universal, but growing up in my parents' Spice Store on 33rd & Galena, through our customers I was given the chance to witness a kindness that was also intentional. Through them I learned, when you take the time to care about others the world becomes a better place. That’s a very Milwaukee and very Wisconsin idea.
The fact is Wisconsin wasn’t randomly chosen out of a hat as the test ground for what unlimited political spending could do. We were chosen because of our history. Wisconsin created the Republican Party as a force against slavery. Milwaukee has long embraced compassionate capitalism. If unlimited media buys and the anger of the right wing echo machine could unravel a century of Wisconsin support for education and the environment here, it could be repeated everywhere. So they set off to vilify teachers and turn suburban voters against public education for a $23 property tax cut. Then they went after our state's proud history of environmental protection for nothing more than their own campaign contributions.
At first our desire to see goodness in everyone had us thinking this was just a brand-new governor in over his head. But as time went on and this all only escalated, we saw how incredibly organized the money behind all this was. In time we came to realize there was no goodness here at all, only the strip-mining of the public good to give more to those who were already the wealthiest of the wealthy. There was the thought in 2016 that our now President, with his lack of conscience and willingness to sell out all that is good for his own advancement, somehow surprised the Republican Party. We here in Wisconsin have learned the hard way these are the very leadership values they’ve built their new party model around.
January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration, the day of the first Woman’s March, many nationally were pleasantly surprised that a Wisconsin Spice business had a symbol that so closely embraced the feelings that had them marching in our Kind Heart pin and in the words: “Kindness can’t sit down simply because anger has stood up.” Testing grounds work both ways. While Wisconsin was the trial run for what the Republicans have now become nationally, we were pushing back against their efforts.
Time and again we found when they go after education, minority rights, the environment, healthcare for those in need, or even now in their taking of children from parents legally seeking asylum, what they are really trying to do is erode our common decency and our shared humanity. For them to win they need us to stop caring. In studying their blueprints, what we’ve found is that their Death Star has no defense against human compassion. Our kindness is our strength. Please use this knowledge any way you can.
This Tuesday in Wisconsin, it’s this message of kindness we must share and continue to share across the nation through November 6 and onward to November 3, 2020. In Wisconsin, it is time for someone with the strength and courage to stand up to outside money no matter the size of the check to be voted the opportunity to govern. Thankfully there are many with this strength and courage on Tuesday’s ballot. If you are in Wisconsin and would like to know more about how and where to vote, please click here.
Finally, if you are outside of Wisconsin but know of someone who lives here, it would make a difference for you to share this email as an encouragement to vote. From a practical standpoint, getting someone to vote this Tuesday who might otherwise have not almost guarantees their voting November 6. But beyond practical, on a human kindness level getting the chance to vote for an honest to goodness groundbreaking Wisconsin Hero like Tammy Baldwin, even though in the primary she is running unopposed, is just Pure Joy. Don’t ever miss chances for Pure Joy!
Thanks for being the kind of people that showed me the value in caring for others.
You are my heroes,
Bill
bill@penzeys.com
= new reply since forum marked as read
