Miristioma vs. Izar [D11 Debate]
Jan 19, 2019 15:07:54 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2019 15:07:54 GMT -5
Vasco Izar
'Think back on a time when you experienced great difficulty. How did you get through it?'
“I want to start by thanking you all for coming out tonight, and for my opponent, Ikaia, for putting his name forward to run. I think we can both agree that we want what’s best for the district, and for all of you, even if we might disagree about other things.” I looked to the young man with a smile. I spent the night with Emma in the kitchen over kerosene light going over all the issues. I barely slept thinking about whether or not what I was putting them all through was worth it. On stage in the town square, behind a fancy podium, all it took was thinking of her to get my head on straight.
“There’s folks that talk about hardships – not enough food, facing sickness, facing violence – I grew up seeing my brothers go hungry, and cousins sacrificing themselves to represent this district. Folks should know that I have felt just as you, even if it hasn’t been the same pain, that it’s helped me to better understand what it means to live for other people.”
“Hardest thing in my life was losing my daughter Raquel.” I paused, and took a breath. Just saying her name in front of all of them was like trying to lift a heavy weight. “As a parent, you expect to see all the firsts of your children – watching them take that first step, their first day of school, their first day after their last reaping. I had a bottle of whiskey for us to drink together that day.” She would’ve been old enough now. To drink. To marry. To be the adult she should’ve been. “Having to bury her was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. And I can honestly say it still hurts, each and every morning.”
“I could’ve fallen apart. I don’t claim to be that much stronger than anyone else – just a man that does the best he can. It was my wife that got me out of bed in the mornings when things were too heavy. My son Emmanuel’s hand on my shoulder when he caught me crying in the kitchen. The men in the fields, checking in to see that all of us were getting along.” I beamed down at the folks in the audience; sure as there were Izars in the seats, I could see the hard faced men and women who’d leant me their shoulders.
“Hardships like that are like a man caught between fifty feet waves in a storm. You think you’re going to drown. There’s no way that you’re going to make it. Except – I had folks telling me to hold on, to make it easier. Support from all sides so that I kept kicking, until the storm blew through, and the waves settled from fifty, to twenty, to none at all.”
“As mayor, I want to help you through the storm. I want you to know that I hear you, that there’s nothing that’ll keep me from being there for you. Because like I’ve said, this campaign isn’t about me – it’s about all of you. Making this place a better district. Whether that means better trade so we have more to eat, or new books for schools so our kids are learning what they need. And that starts with being a man for others.”