At a campaign rally in Wisconsin last week, Michelle Obama stated that she is proud of her country for the first time in her adult life. She added that she said that not only because her husband is leading in the contest to be nominated as the presidential candidate of a major political party but also because people are pushing for change. She did not specify what change means to her and there have been a variety of interpretations. Some people claim that it means African Americans will be given more respect and they cite how the federal government responded when the levees broke in New Orleans. Other people accept that Michelle meant political change and they cite the presidents who have been in office since she was 18 years old in 1982, starting with Ronald Reagan. Still other people have decided that change refers to the number of youth who are flocking to the Obama campaign. I interpreted the statement as meaning that Americans have not been working for change over the last quarter of a century.
Many Americans, including a large number of Iowans, have been and are working for change. They may do this as members of the Peace Corps or as Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). They may do it as elected officials or as appointees to a governmental commission. They may do it as mentors to boys and girls.
People can lead an effort for change or they can participate in some other capacity. We need thinkers who come up with new ideas. We need laborers who can donate a bit of their time. We need bankers to help keep the people working for change from starving. We need managers who can coordinate the various parts. We need politicians to codify policies. Even the critic is important for change as he or she can help people think about why there should or should not be change.
A country is both its government and its people. Change can be a massive event such as World War II or Social Security but it can also be something smaller such as countering urban sprawl or growing organic food. Rep. Wayne Ford (D-Polk County) ran for office because he wanted to change the high rate of incarceration for African Americans in Iowa’s prisons. Katy Flynn started Des Moines for Darfur because nobody else had. Sue Dinsdale switched jobs to push withdrawal from Iraq as a campaign issue. The list of individual Iowans working for change goes on and on.
Often I disagree with individuals about specific changes and have written about the harm some supposedly good changes have wrought. In addition, I oppose change just to have change and oppose maintaining the status quo just because that’s the way things are. Nevertheless, I take pride in the number of Americans I have observed giving of their time, their money, and their lives to bring change to our communities and to our country.
M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa. 
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