<\/a>Minneapolis, the hustle and bustle, the natural beauty of the city combined with over a century of human gardening that created a city of lakes and parks amidst neighborhoods and skyscrapers. I loved the breweries, the neighborhood pubs nestled between homes, the intimidating importance of people striding in the skyways, the spectacular events that brought everyone together like the Basilica block party, the way strangers would become neighbors when three feet of snow forced us all to work together to dig out city buses.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI told anyone who would listen that Minneapolis was my favorite city. That there was nowhere else I’d rather live. Especially compared to Milwaukee, it was difficult to make friends here – the old adage “if you want friends in Minnesota, go to kindergarten” was spot on. But I found some spectacular people who loved Jesus and wanted to see the city face its ignored injustices and thrive together. I wanted to spend the rest of my life here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After dedicating my entire adult life to the city working in its worst neighborhoods to right its worst wrongs, 2020 came along and the air changed. When a governor illegally mandates you stay in your home, unable to even visit your parents next door while states like Florida are totally open, something about your trust in government breaks. When you realize your neighbors are going quietly along with this fundamental break from democracy, you look at them differently. They can’t be trusted either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow, the air tastes different. It smells different. It doesn’t refresh or enliven – it loses its life-giving potency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When citizen journalists publish story after story of someone murdered by a violent criminal who prosecutors and judges had dead to rights but refused to imprison, the air changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you realize that half of abortions in Minnesota are paid for by tax dollars and the state enables elective abortion until birth, the air changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the legislature, with one vote majority, declares Christian parents abusive and threatens to take custody of their kids, the air feels downright poisonous. When the Star Tribune and KARE fail to even mention this in the news, it sinks on your chest like a weight that the fix is in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all that, things don’t feel the same. You don’t feel like you can enjoy even nature, the trees and lakes. Surely the leaves hold no responsibility for the great evil that has become Minnesota, but they become symbols, reminders of something dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every breath you draw into your lungs feels tainted somehow. If you’ve ever inhaled a gas that stopped you halfway and forced you to cough instead, you know what I mean. You feel suffocated, every day. You yearn for true air, true breath, true freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You shine your light in the darkness every day, but over time, you realize your batteries are fading, and the light is dimming. There is only so much darkness a human soul can take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning I woke up in our new home in Tennessee. Finally, I breathed deep, and was reminded of the example of my ancestors whose strength and determination brought them across the sea to become a political bloc whose American power ultimately put so much pressure on the UK that it had to relent and, after 700 years of tyranny, restore freedom in Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
—–<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But if at last our colours should be torn from Ireland’s heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her sons with shame and sorrow from the dear old isle would part<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve heard a whisper of a land that lies beyond the sea<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where rich and poor stand equal in the light of freedom’s day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh Ireland, must we leave you, driven by a tyrant’s hand<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And seek a mother’s blessing from a strange and distant land<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where the cruel cross of England shall never more be seen<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in that land we’ll live and die for the wearing of the green”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All reactions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Oh, believe me – I understand the motivation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can’t imagine life without the fight – but I can imagine life elsewhere. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Borrowed with permission from a friend on social media: When I moved to Minnesota in May 2010, I had just graduated college and taken a job offer in Edina. In the aftermath of the Great Recession jobs were scarce, especially in Milwaukee, and a young man trying to make it on his own had to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minnesota-politics","category-liberal-tyranny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85598,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85594\/revisions\/85598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}