Sister Cori

I do not live in St. Louis, Missouri but I do live in Illinois and visit St. Louis (mostly for food). Unfortunately, as a tourist I am not personally familiar with the specific plagues of the city and yet I am very familiar with those same ailments because they exist in my home town of Chicago. There are similar symptoms of impoverished communities and that is my point. Although I never visited the hood in St. Louis, I can pretty much paint the picture and understand the maladies of the people who live there. Writer, bell hooks wrote All About Love, providing a blueprint of how to put love in all aspects of life and how the lack of love impacts the current culture in America. (Read my thoughts on the book here). Sister Cori Bush, recently being elected to the House of Representative for MO district 1 intends to govern from a place of love during her term and I am here for every bit of it. She has already been welcomed to "The Squad" so we know she will be berated and disrespected by her Republican colleagues, but she is well prepared for it and is already the better person as she is coming from a place of love and not hate.

First thing to note is that Cori uses her life to serve the people in all ways. Professionally she is a nurse. If you have ever needed medical attention you can attest to the importance of the roles a nurse fills. A team of nurses made the hardest and scariest of my days seem routine and for that I am forever grateful. Using my personal experience to form a set of expectations and assumptions as to how it was to be in Cori's care, I expect she was nothing short of amazing to those who were in her care. Good nurses have to serve people in all stages of life and become well versed in how to help and also be honest so their patients can have realistic expectations.

Further proof of Cori's competence is that she is a community activist. As an activist she has been on the ground doing the work with and for the people. Professionally she witnessed the first hand impact of healthcare or a lack of on the community. As an activist she knows the power in organization and the voice of the people. This also makes her a threat to the people in Congress who do not come from a similar background, those who are implants for industry. As an activist Cori is aware of the intricacies of getting the work done, so much so she had a successful campaign getting her into her newly elected position.

One more badge to add to Cori's jacket is that she is a pastor. As a pastor you are a leader and a believer above all else. This is grounds for an interesting dilemma for some of Cori's future colleagues who depend on faith to support and as reasons for their heinous actions. As a pastor she is well versed in the scripture and is familiar with the power that comes along with the responsibility of being a shepherd.

I look forward to future hearings on the meaning and plans for "Defund the police", universal free healthcare, Covid-19 relief packages, and all the other people-centric policies. There needs to be more people in Congress who are there for the people and who come from a place of love like Cori. On November 14, 2020 she tweeted, "We have to govern from a place of love. Because I love you I care that you have food to eat, a roof over your head, a safe place to live, the healthcare you need, and the education you deserve. My love means I want every single person to live a decent life. " Call me crazy but I want more Congressmen and Congresswoman to govern from such a place. I also want to know the argument against someone wanting decency for you.

That's all I have for now. I came here to say that Cori Bush is who everyone's representative should be. A product of the district, a reflection of the population, and tried and true. I'm all in support of her being in Congress and she definitely deserves all of her flowers.