When you vote in November, choose the Jeffrey Mitchells

Recently, the Spring community lost an exemplary leader, Jeffrey Mitchell, a veteran, family man, man of faith, former Spring ISD Trustee, and many other roles. He was a gentleman with a great sense of humor, and he was kind, generous, and an aficionado of jazz. I would like you to see and get to know Mr. Mitchell, because he’s the kind of person we need in political office these days. So with that in mind, please listen to one of his favorite songs as you read the rest of what I have to say below.

What you won’t see in Mr. Mitchell’s leadership is any hatred. He was a good man, and no leader should ever be telling others to hate. Your neighbors, your friends, and your family may be members of a different political party; be wary when people you don’t know tell you that your nearest and dearest hate you and everything that you do. As it is written in 1 John 4: “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

Mr. Mitchell stood on the fixed principles of Jesus and the integrity that one develops with time and experience. He pointed to other people as examples worth following, innate leaders who defended the poor, the sick, and the weak. Often I see leaders excuse their behavior by pointing to another person, and arguing, “They did it, so I can do it.” This is a Faustian bargain of the shameful kind. There will always be an example whether true or believed to be true to excuse comparative behavior. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” [Matthew 7]. A good leader maintains a tent, a party, of integrity and consistency. They do not excuse failures within their community by pointing to others outside.

What particularly struck me as Mr. Mitchell’s family and “adopted” sons, neighborhood children who constantly visited, came forward to tell their stories was how he served as their stalwart bulkhead of stability. In today’s information age, when events from the other side of the world and even between two individuals in a tiny suburban town can immediately be seen, we are bombarded with a lot of images of power being exercised. There is physical power in the form of a gun or a mob, political power in the form of imprisonment and disenfranchisement, economic power in the form of an aristocracy or economic collapse, but these are all merely distractors from what is true power: STABILITY. When we look at Switzerland, Japan, and Finland for example, there are problems but the wrenching changes that divide people and drive fear are too small to have much effect on society as a whole. These countries demonstrate true power, the power to keep people feeling safe and stable.

As you go to the ballot in November, keep Mr. Mitchell in mind. Is the candidate that you’re looking at someone who preaches for you to accept your neighbor? Does he/she point to other leaders as a model of personal integrity to follow? Ignore the fear that 3rd party players attempt to instill in you; look at the candidate for himself/herself and ask: for those influenced by him/her, are they stable? Safe?

"Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed and very dear."

Elizabeth Jensen, PhD, PE, CSP
Referee PAC, Treasurer
http://refpac.org/texas