To the editor:

So many of us have watched in dismay, frustration, even anger, at the direction our country has taken in the past two years. We are appalled by the lack of honesty, integrity, compassion, and leadership exhibited by our politicians, particularly in Washington. We are sad, because we feel like we do not recognize our country anymore.

Many of you feel this way, but you are hesitant to express your views. You hide your opinions because you think all of your neighbors, friends, and family members think differently and you don’t want to rock the boat.

Yet the boats are beginning to bobble, because a tidal wave of change is coming. Over 800,000 people attended the March for our Lives event in Washington, DC, on March 24, the largest single-day protest in the history of the nation’s capital. Hundreds of sibling protests were held that same day around the nation, drawing millions of attendees. Over a million youth nationwide participated in the National School Walkout on March 14, including youth right here in Marshall and other schools in our area.

But that’s not all. As the Sunday, March 25, issue of the Star Tribune reported, women are entering politics in record numbers. More than 34,000 women have contacted EMILY’s List (an organization that recruits and trains female candidates) about running for office, up from 900 in the previous election cycle. Thousands of women around the nation are running for political office, including the 76 running for State House seats in Minnesota this year.

This tidal wave of change is coming to our own area. Mindy Kimmel is running for State House in District 16B. In our own district of 16A, Tom Wyatt-Yerka, a 2014 graduate of Marshall High School, is running for State House.

The Lyon County DFL meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of every month in the back room of the Wooden Nickel. The next meeting is on April 16. Our numbers are growing every month. We are your friends, neighbors, and family members who are fed up with the ways things are and are committed to bringing change to our community, our state, and our nation.

If you want to see a restoration of honesty, decency, compassion and integrity to politics, come join us–there’s always room for one more. Help us bring the tidal wave of change to Lyon County. As our 44th president stated: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Anita Gaul

Vice-Chair, Lyon County DFL

Marshall