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Can one person really make a difference? |
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 Recently a female student in one of my classes came into my office and stared at me intently as she asked a profound question: "Can one person really make a difference?"
That is a question many people wonder about. Can I really make a difference?
I thought about her question and pondered people who had made a difference. We often point to famous individuals like Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill as examples of one person changing the course of history.
But I thought of others who made a difference, people who really aren't far away or in the past. I thought of Debbie Swenson, who nearly beat Representative Mike Morley and surely has him worried about what she will do in 2010. Mike Morley has a lot to worry about. Debbie can beat him and provide her district with an honest and capable legislator.
And Claralyn Hill, who suffered the full force of Curt Bramble's efforts to prevent her from taking out one of Bramble's close associates in the legislature, Chris Herrod. (Herrod's solution to the health care crisis is to raise insurance premiums so people won't visit the doctor so much!) Claralyn scared Herrod. As a first time candidate in a heavily Republican district bucking the force of the Senate majority leader, Claralyn got 41 percent of the vote in a district. Everyone knows now Republicans are not invulnerable, even in strong Republican districts.
And then there was RaDene Hatfield, who actually opposed Bramble last year. RaDene revealed the real Bramble in her campaign -- a man who not only sought to bully RaDene while she was campaigning but did the same to a pizza delivery girl who was trying to deliver his pizza! Even the Senate Republicans were so embarrassed by Bramble after the campaign, they removed him from his post as Senate majority leader. If RaDene had not run against him, Curt Bramble likely would still be in that position. Thank you, RaDene.
Those are just a few of the people who stepped up last year to make a difference. Many were candidates who were willing to be pioneers in the struggle to challenge seemingly-entrenched Republican incumbents and revitalize the Democratic party. Others were volunteers who took the step of putting a sign in their yard, distributing literature in their neighborhood, and talking to their neighbors about a Democratic candidate. They came forward, each as an individual, and then attracted others who did the same. All decided they were tired of one-party control that produces a lack of accountability and extreme arrogance on the part of incumbents. They were ready to make a difference.
Yes, I told the student, one person can make a difference. I've seen it happen.
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