This was supposed to be a longer post, so I’ll tell you why I’m voting for Eric Greitens in a minute. First, why I have to cut it short.
I got home from door knocking for Eric at about 6:30 and walked straight to my laptop to write. Just as I sat down, my wife called me to dinner. She’d already eaten, but she heated up my dinner, called to me, then walked into our living room and shrieked.
I figured a snake or a lizard had slithered into the living room and was eating the cat. (Or the cat was eating the reptile. Whatever.) But it was worse.
A water spot on the ceiling. Directly below the business end of the bathtub.
Great. I got out my tools and cut a hole in the ceiling. (You probably know that feeling. Like a surgeon breaching a patient’s skin.) I’ll spare you the details. But it seems the plumber’s putty around the drain had pretty much broken up and washed down the pipes.
So the two hours I spent playing plumber had to come off the time allowed for writing this post. And, yet, I don’t think you’ll mind. Here’s why.
I’m voting for Eric Greitens because he would rather see me fix my leaky pipe than knock doors for him or write this blog post. Eric follows the stoic philosophical tradition of living the good life. Not a life of opulence and luxury, but the life of doing what needs to be done given the circumstances fate tosses our way. Rich or poor, writer or plumber, no condition is good or bad. It’s what we do with the days and talents God gave us.
I am a lousy plumber, but my family needed me to play one tonight. And Eric would appreciate it if he knew.
I want a governor who’s dedicated to a society that lets everyone live the good life they choose, with the chance for the dignity of meaningful work in a job that gives them satisfaction by serving themselves and their families and their community. And a government that leaves people alone while protecting them from harm and aggression.
I believe in those things, too. So I’m voting for Eric Greitens for governor. Please join me.