INDIANA OPINION: Golden rule
From the Kokomo Tribune
We hear complaints — all the time — from campaigning politicians, TV pundits and lobbyists peddling "family values." The federal government, they say, has "taken God out of our schools."
God never left. Not here. Kokomo City Hall, the United Way of Howard County, and the businesses and residents will tell you that.
Near the home of the United Auto Workers Local 685, a historical marker now attests to it.
The day after two tornadoes swept through Howard County one year ago, 400 area students turned out to help their neighbors clean up.
"I went riding around with my Uncle Chris [Reed] and just saw the devastation," former Kokomo basketball player and Indiana All-Star Tayler Persons told us. "I knew if my house was hit like that, I would want people to help me. I wanted to get my team out there, and it just blossomed into something really special."
Persons tweeted an encouragement to his friends and Twitter followers to turn out as volunteers — with the hashtag "KokomoStrong." A throng of students showed up the next morning.
They ignited a surge of relief efforts in the wake of destruction that left a lasting impression on civic leaders and Gov. Mike Pence.
"One year ago today, we started on a journey together," the governor said in his second State of the State address this past January. "I've learned a great deal traveling this state over that year, being with Hoosiers in good times and bad. From hiking with kids in Lincoln State Park to walking neighborhoods in Kokomo devastated by tornadoes, I've seen the character and spirit of our people firsthand — hardworking, resilient, and generous to those in need."
This empathy-turned-to-action we've seen in our youth didn't just begin after the November storm one year ago. In 2011, Kokomo High School students organized a week of fundraisers for Morgan Brantley, a 17-year-old junior who was fighting cancer. The boys varsity basketball team wore "Kats for a Kure" T-shirts and cheerleaders walked the stands at Memorial Gym, collecting donations from fans to help Morgan's family offset the costs of her treatment.
To the end, Morgan was every bit as resilient and generous as the classmates and teachers who loved her.
That marker near the union hall reads "Kokomo Strong." But between the lines, it says the kids of Howard County know the meaning of charity. They live the golden rule.
It says they make us proud.