Where is my Alabama? 

I can’t seem to find her anywhere; it’s like she was abandoned a long time ago. In my eyes, I don’t think she was ever truly here. From decaying infrastructure, harmful teaching environments, pollution and debris, rotting homes, and closed businesses, it doesn’t feel like home, it hasn’t. 

Alabama has been plagued by wrong decisions since it gained statehood back in 1819, from seceding from the Union, to implementing literacy tests in its Constitution to prevent poor black and white citizens from voting, outlawing the NAACP, and even more recently rejecting voting right protections. These wrongs plague the state to this day. Alabama is not without chances, though; change can come, but it has to be heavily influenced by our state government. To say that it has been an issue caused by both sides wouldn’t be a reach. We need cohesion in our local government to stay afloat–but it hasn’t and more than likely won’t. Alabama has been a Republican-led state since 1976, has had a Republican governor since  2003 and a Republican congress since 2009. 16 years without a change.

The Democratic party isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel, they have their own shortcomings, they always have. But the state of Alabama hasn’t had a chance with them, and we need an honest change. Alabama is a beautiful state, with beautiful people and culture behind it; with Mardi Gras having its roots out of Mobile and having one of the United States’ largest aeronautical hubs, “Rocket City” Huntsville. The state has every chance laid out before it and nobody is willing to take it. We could be a hub for industry, union, and research but instead the state sits at no. 45 according to this article. Building a better Alabama would take time, but the 5 million residents would surely appreciate it. 

The McGilton Advocacy Group wants work to begin out here once we have our footing established, because the belief that change is more than possible is more than we need to take action. The undertaking is always large, but people deserve that more than anything. They deserve a healthcare system that prioritizes them and doesn’t overwork the people already dedicating their lives to helping others, an education system that wants to see them succeed and remain in Alabama to work and develop the state, an industry that isn’t just hard labor or a retail environment, and a transparent government that seeks to lift  its people up rather than put them down.

An example of something that would greatly benefit Alabama would be unions; workers coming together to ensure they are treated fairly and paid more than just a “living wage”; except Alabama enshrined in its constitution that it be a “Right to Work” state and as of Senate Bill 231, the state prevents companies from receiving state economic incentives  if they recognize unions. The issue is within the state's core, and it will take time to carve it out. In the following years the dedicated goal for our state is to make her whole and give her a true purpose. The message in this article reflects across our nation. We need change, a change that is not sided red or blue but one that sits down with the people supporting it.

Many Americans find themselves in the middle; according to this article, around 40 percent of Americans do. Infighting and conflict over colors has brought our nation and our beautiful individual states into a heavy stream of decay. John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” To get what we want, we have to look at the future; the life, the innovation, and the education of our country. It's easy to say “Go vote for blank and he’ll set us right again,” but it’s difficult to sit down with someone and tell them to go against the current and force a renewal.

If this article could’ve led on with the means to fix our problems, it would have; but it can’t. Our renewal has to come from each and every person—from rural and urban, black and white, poor and rich. That is what we stand for and hope to provide a gateway to by providing the resources our governments hide. We together can change these disastrous and divisive policies that plague our states and communities. Without action we will surely fall behind and rest in a state of decay.

About The Author 

Lelyn Chestnut is the Chief Operating Officer of the McGilton Advocacy Group. Apart from his operational duties, he also frequently writes articles in support of the activities of the group.

Portable Document Format (PDF)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y5jjIZK3Y4naY57S1ZQ1hF54olsUW4vf/view?usp=sharing