Laird Fetzer Hamblin _ lairdsenate.us _ Utah Democratic State Convention Speech
– Whistle bird song –
– Sing –
Loud pounding is resounding, throughout our neighborhoods.
It sounds like someone new has found our quiet woods!
Quickly we will welcome them, so they won’t fly away!
For everyone is welcome here, within our woods to stay!
—
My kind parents were public school teachers, Dad for 38 years, Mom only briefly, before dedicating herself, along with playing in the community orchestra, to being a mother to my three sisters, three brothers and me, on a little farm which Dad and Mom had purchased to grow children on; a place where we could wander, work and above all wonder.
While proselyting in South Africa, my hyper immune system inflamed my entire body. I could barely move, I absorbed minimal nutrition and formed no stool. After 56 days in hospitals, it was concluded that I have inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s. With a daily dose of steroids I continued my proselyting,
I studied at the University of Utah and Utah State, earning a bachelors in biology, with minors in chemistry and language arts.
I studied endangered plants, birds and other animals in Utah, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
IBD inflammation made such work difficult at times, so I applied myself in writing song rhymes to help myself and others address life’s travails and triumphs and song rhymes to teach, delight and comfort children.
IBD inflammation is now minimal in me as I monthly inject from a little syringe a biologic attached to a human gene. I was told it costs about $3 to produce yet the price if not covered by insurance is $31,820.40.
For a year, I held infants in Primary Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, singing my rhymes to them as they drifted into sleep, safe from anything that had frightened them.
I teach kindergarteners to read and encourage them to be who they are. As I teach them all I have learned in life, they teach me all I’ve forgotten. They still know to laugh and cry; sing and dance and to always ask why?
I see in infants and children that we are all born kind. When one infant cries or laughs they all do. When one kindergartner needs something or someone, they all respond with crayons, answers or hugs.
Driving my little electric Chevy car, I saw a wooden plank in my path, I first thought to drive over it, but drove around instead. I then stopped and removed the plank from the roadway, and kept it. I could see then that the plank was large and would’ve torn my little car apart.
Our nation has had impediments in our pathway. Slavery was our first large impediment.
Accomplishing a democracy requires compromise. I think of it as promises to come. We delay implementation of some of our ideas and even some of our ideals to accomplish something important in the moment.
One ideal wrongly delayed in the founding of our nation was abolishment of slavery. We tragically tried driving around it and eventually we drove over it, nearly tearing our fragile little nation apart.
How can kind humans become so brutal?
Because of Lies!
Lies cause Fear!
Fear causes Hate!
Hate causes violence!
Centuries of lies excused slavery then laws condoned it.
We eventually removed the laws, but the lies continued, so the brutality did too!
Such Lies still haunt and terrorize today.
I rescued a little dove from a cat. I thought all was well, as she cooed in my hand, but she soon became weak and unable to fly. The cats teeth had fractured a wing bone and introduced bacterial pathogens into her bloodstream. Her body inflamed in response. I gave her antibiotics and nutrients but the bacteria killed her.
Lies are like bacterial pathogens, transferred from the mouths of predators into the social bloodstream of humanity. They can lead to the death of friendships and families, neighborhoods and nations.
The antidote for Lies is Truth.
The antidote for Fear is Hope.
The antidote for Hate is Love.
The antidote for Violence is Peace.
A little Ute girl wasn’t sleeping at night. Things she saw and heard were frightening her. After inquiring to ensure she was safe at home, I pondered and then said she could picture her housecats chasing those scary dreams away. I then realized I could help too. So I said picture Laird chasing those scary dreams away!
My little friend was apparently able to sleep thereafter.
Today, there are things in friendships and families, in neighborhoods and nations which are frightening us.
It seems that there is always a third of us willing to follow devils and despots, tyrants and terrorists, presidents and pundits.
Usually that third is endeavoring to hurt another third of us.
They can only succeed, though, if the final third of us sit down when we need to stand up, stand back when we need to step forward, and stay silent when we need to speak out!
As Your Neighbor and as Your United States Senator in our government of citizens by citizens I will stand up, step forward and speak out!
Housecats won’t help much to chase away things which are scaring us in our United States Senate. But if you picture Laird chasing those scary dreams away I’ll do my best to do so, as Your Neighbor, as Your Senator, Laird.
In the Senate
– Song –
Rambunctious Wrinkles Rhinoceroses are romping all around.
Running through the roses and trampl-ing the ground!
Thank you for your kindness
I Love You
