Change at the roots

If you are interested in change at the roots of current issues, I invite you to walk beside me. At times I will lead you, and at other times I will ask for your guidance. All along the journey, however, we will work at the root of the issue.

Here is a story about getting to the roots.

When I was a young boy, my mom paid me 25 cents for a bucket of weed leaves that I pulled from the garden. A bucket of weeds, with roots attached, would fetch me a dollar. I didn't understand why there was such a discrepancy. One day, she showed me a patch of weeds that was growing over the carrots. Those were the weeds whose roots I left in the ground. The carrots weren't growing very fast. She then showed me another patch of the garden where I had removed the entire root mass. Those carrots were thriving (and tasted wonderful!).

Mom explained to me that if we are going to change a situation, we must get to the very root of the problem. Simply removing the leaf of the weed only created a short-term advantage for the carrots; changing the root of the problem allowed the carrots to thrive.

The problem with politics is that it's all politics. The typical strategy has been to scratch the surface of an issue until the people stop complaining. When I commit to remedying a situation, I will work at the roots. Will you work with me?