RUNNING TO RESTORE EMPATHY & RESPECT IN GOVERNMENT
By Kathleen Dailey
This year I received a silver bowl for 25 years of teaching in my district with about ten other colleagues. Throughout the day we were congratulated by our friends who commented that we looked like a “power team” as we stood there with our bowls.
I had to chuckle at that because on the one hand, we have grown older together, gotten married, bought homes, brought up our children together, shared in the loss of our parents, supported each other through health scares, and celebrated new milestones as our children are now beginning their own adventures. On the other hand, I start each year looking at eager young faces who are trying to find their way in the world and worry that there might not be a secure future for them.
My seniors in AP Government and electives begin each year looking at how to conduct civil discourse in our classes. In such a divisive political climate today, our students are beginning to develop their own ideologies and need tools and language to seek knowledge. The basic message is “how do we find that common language”?
The answer is empathy and respect. Empathy and respect for each other, our families, our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues and strangers we meet.
In Dutchess County, we need to preserve our democracy so that decisions are made with empathy and respect. To create a space so that our families can thrive. I am running to work on better mental health care access for all in the county and to ensure that money is spent to invest in the future for all in our community. The Republican-controlled county legislature has allocated $25 million of American Relief Funds to Dutchess stadium (Heritage Park) and wasted almost $4 million on a ill-planned homeless shelter in Poughkeepsie that residents DO NOT WANT. At the same time, they REFUSED to approve $500,000 for Dutchess Community College and cut the funding for the Youth Center by half.
Let's come together and become a power team that includes seniors, families and young people who are eager to start careers, not just private interests and corporations. Use your vote to ensure that empathy and respect become the norm and not the exception.