My old friend and colleague Miguel Morales is running for a seat on the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees. Miguel is not a career politician. He is not someone looking to boost his resume through an election in these hard times. He cares deeply for the college, its students, its employees, its legacy and its future. I have never met anyone as knowledgeable or as passionate about the college as Miguel.

Quite frankly, I could go on and on about the qualities I see in Miguel and why I believe he would make an excellent trustee. But you can learn more about his inspiring past and qualifications at his site. I want to take the time here to highlight a quality I think we see too rarely nowadays.

Miguel speaks truth to power.

As a journalist, Miguel put his reputation and employment on the line investigating the president of the college. Through his questions and reporting, he has shown a constant willingness to challenge authority, to keep officials truthful and to shine daylight into corners many would prefer to leave darkened. Through his actions, he has shown that he expects openness and accountability in our government and our elected representatives. Had we seen such dedication to openness and accountability in our elected officials nationally, our world might be significantly different today.

Miguel has been a student at the college, an employee at its library and a reporter for the student newspaper. He has daily contact with students, employees, professors and administrators. His history allows him to voice the concerns and expectations of the people who rely most on the college. He speaks truth to power not only with his own voice, but also with the knowledge gained from the wide and vibrant community that makes up JCCC.

Miguel speaks truth to power, but he does so for all of us.

Wouldn’t we all like to see candidates run for office who have shared the same experiences as us, who can legitimately identify with our lives? A candidate whose passion has led them to public service? A candidate who expects the same things from government as we do?

For citizens of Johnson County, we have that candidate in Miguel Morales.

For more information about Miguel:

Visit his site
Join his Facebook Group
Check out his YouTube channel

Ed Note: I feel remiss at not having written this post earlier. The delay has partly been because of how busy I am, but also because I haven’t known how to express my deep level of respect and admiration for Miguel. Best of luck old friend, you know I’m with you in this.

June 8, 1951 – Washington, R.I. — Miss Ardis Barbour, clerk of the Washington fire and lighting district, objected strongly when the district raised her salary from $75 to $125 a year. “That’s altogether too much,” said Miss Barbour. “Remember, I took this job for no pay at all as a public spirited citizen.”

Seems like we need more public spirited citizens like Miss Barbour, but alas, I fear her kind are fewer and farther between than ever.

It’s likely the journalism geek in me, but I get stupid excited when I discover old newspapers in strange places. While digging into the walls of the living room this weekend, we found some newspapers stuffed into the lath and plaster to fill holes. The above clipping is from a Kansas City Star. We also found copies of the Kansas City Kansan and the Kansas City Times.

I find myself drawn to old newspapers for a wide range of reasons, not the least of which is a chance to look back at a day in history and try to imagine what it was like to read this news when it was hot off the presses. The Korean War was in full swing (“Reds” and “Commies” being standard terms in the news even). People were worried about the cost of military aid to Yugoslavia. What was in your medicine cabinet could kill you. Local traffic laws were being argued about. A prince assaulted some photographers for snapping pictures of him at a party. All in all, it didn’t seem strikingly different from what I might find in the Star today, just some of the names have changed.

I find that both comforting, and deeply disturbing.

War, good god, what is it good for, absolutely front page news.

Today, I think we would still expect to see the opposite of this joke (men waiting on women in the bathroom).

Most of the newspapers were wrapped up in tar paper at the base of the wall.

I never got the Hedley Lamarr joke in Blazing Saddles, as I had no idea it was a running gag based on a real person.

We also found some 1937 newspapers used as a backing for wallpaper, but alas, little was savable.

When I’ve got more time, I’ll go back through these and see if there are anymore interesting stories. The couple of closeups above were just found during a quick perusal.