I grew up hearing fairytales and Bible stories, both had a familiar ending: “And the moral of this story is …” 

Life back then taught us lessons that we carried forth into everyday behaviors. We didn’t have political correctness. Nor did we have the mindset that everyone wins and no one loses. Rather, there existed common sense that tended to prevail in all aspects of life. I am grateful for the type of upbringing I had. 

Years ago, I worked with a group of people who wanted to establish an organization here in Austin to encourage pride in homeownership. At the time, we had a choice of picking between one person who was a good speaker and a second person whose entire heart and being was dedicated to preserving what we had found in Austin — beautiful homes, safe neighborhoods, and a sense of community — but whose speech pattern left much to be desired.

We went with the good talker for the leadership role. In the end, however, his interests lay in things that caused us a lot of hesitation. The group floundered and we knew that our choice of the smooth talker over the man with heart was the reason. From that moment on, I learned never to judge someone by their speech pattern. It is more important to hear what they have to say as opposed to the manner in which they say it. It was one of those “moral to the story” moments.

With that thought in mind, I watched the Chicago Tonight interview, March 28, with mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson. It was an interview everyone should watch and especially listen to what he says. In the years since his initial run, I’ve been impressed with his commitment to Chicago and have been in agreement with many of his initiatives. Under the current mayor, we don’t really have genuine leadership. What we have is a mayoral bully who gets his way, and thus the city loses.

In the interview, Wilson came out swinging. He first states that the mayor and his band of 50 thieves (my terminology) don’t know how to run this city. I gotta agree. The mayor proposes any dumb idea and the majority of aldermen nods their heads in agreement, proving that puppet politics remains alive and well in Chicago. 

Wilson mentioned economic parity, jobs, school closings, the murder of Laquan McDonald, firing Superintendent Eddie Johnson, taxes, etc. To paraphrase one of his best lines during the interview, he basically said that Rahm Emmanuel closed the mental health facilities, and Rahm should have been the first one in line to receive treatment.

The more I listened to the interview, the more I agreed with what Wilson was saying. I will not fault him for his speech pattern. Rather I will judge him on what he has managed to accomplish. Willie Wilson represents one of my favorite lines: “In spite of.” He can preface his talks with a multitude of that kind of message. In spite of only having a seventh grade education, he has become a millionaire. In spite of those who told him he couldn’t, he did. In spite of this country defining him, he defined himself!

I believe Willie Wilson can be the role model our children can relate to. He can win if we come out and get everyone we know to come out and vote him come Feb. 26, 2019.

Here’s the link to the interview: https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/03/28/businessman-philanthropist-willie-wilson-makes-2nd-bid-chicago-mayor