When Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, my heart burst with pride for my home state. As a daughter of Minnesota, it has been thrilling to watch how quickly the country has gone wild for Walz.
Of all the refreshing qualities he brings to the ticket, making kindness cool again may be what this country needs most right now. Walz’s leadership success is a clear rebuke of the harshness toward the vulnerable that has, disturbingly, become normalized.
Walz’s record from a lifetime in public service shows that respecting and uplifting those around us creates opportunities for everyone to thrive.
When kids were getting bullied in the high school where he taught social studies, he became the faculty adviser of the school’s first gay-straight alliance. As a congressman, he stood up for veterans, farmers and working people. As governor, he ensured free school breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students and made housing more affordable across the state.
He gets that we are greater than fear and that any child from any background or zip code deserves the best chance in life and a government that helps their families thrive. And rather than sow divisions, investing in our people is the best path toward strength and prosperity.
This approach to governance and public leadership made all the difference in my life. My family resettled in Minnesota as refugees from Cambodia, part of an influx of refugees who had fled war-torn Southeast Asia in the early 1980s. With our broken English and donated clothes, it would have been easy to fear or resent us. And some did.
But most Minnesotans generously extended warmth and friendship. We called our next-door neighbor “Grandma,” and a local Lutheran congregation treated us like kin. As a kid, I looked up to the teachers in my public schools. As a teen, I devoured books from the public library and traveled everywhere on the well-run public buses.
These supports helped us rebuild our lives; they were an investment in the future of our community. Immigrants quickly become innovators, civic leaders, small business owners and taxpayers growing the state’s robust economy and giving back. This is the Minnesota way, one that has paid dividends for the state.
Minnesotans enjoy an incredibly high quality of life, ranking fourth in U.S. News & World Report’s state rankings. During Walz’s two terms in office, Minnesota scored in the top 10 of America’s Top States for Business every year that CNBC conducted its study. The state has a healthy budget surplus. And when it comes to green space, biking, the arts and more — Minnesota frequently earns top marks.
After living out east for a spell, I felt drawn back home. And when Walz first ran for governor, he was precisely the kind of public servant who inspired me to go door-knocking and get out the vote with my then-6-year-old son. Now I’m proud to work for an organization whose staff and members — including thousands of Minnesotans — will do everything we can to elect the Harris-Walz ticket.
Walz stands on the shoulders of giants like the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.). Touring small towns and big cities on his famous green bus, the popular senator often made the case that, “We all do better when we all do better.”
Walz, who trained at Camp Wellstone, carries forward his legacy. Walz understands that expanding civil rights and freedoms to more people does nothing to diminish the freedoms of others.
In his plain-spoken way, he shares how rights are not a pie with only a few slices. There’s enough to go around. When civil rights and opportunities are extended to all, all Americans benefit. More people achieving their potential makes our country stronger.
Minnesotans get this. There isn’t a winter that goes by without a stranger stopping to help dig another out of a snowbank. This spirit of neighborliness reflects the core of what makes Minnesota — and America — great.
While there will always be politicians who try to win elections through fear-mongering, I’m grateful we have leaders like Tim Walz. As he notes, “The fascists depend on fear” and we don’t have to give them that power. He’s right. We don’t.
I believe America can still be a country that is greater than fear. This November, let’s make that choice.
Na Eng is the chief communications officer at People For the American Way. She lives in Minnesota.