To the Editor,
“City people. They may know how to street fight but they don’t know how to wade through manure.” I love this quote. I was born in Spring Valley. My very extensive family network all still reside in rural Southeast Minnesota. My husband and I currently live in the small village of High Forest. God has called me to be in a place where my eyes are on the rural. And boy – no matter where I look, in the city or in our rural communities, there’s sure a lot of manure to wade through. The thing about rural people is that mucking the stalls is something we do for the privilege of the lifestyle. Every time we leave Preston, picking up my kids from bowling at Grandpa and Grandma’s bowling alley, my son and I giggle and fight for control of the car windows. I smell manure and want to roll the windows up – and he rolls them down and says, “MMM, I smell money!” I’m writing this as a plea to rural people. There’s a lot of manure that we need to wade through. It stinks. Racism stinks. So does the division among us. The thing that unites all of us – is that we’re getting exhausted, tired of fighting with each other. So I am calling out to my fellow rural leaders. You don’t have to have a leadership position. Listen to what God is calling you to do – and step into it. Step into what we have to wade through to bring this country together. Step into your voice in making rural Minnesota a welcoming place for ALL people. Step into leading us back into economic prosperity by using your personal strengths. But speak up, and lead. The farm doesn’t thrive if no one mucks the stalls.
By Kindra Ramaker
Stewartville, Minn.