A True Story:Wednesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Mississippi Republican senatorial runoff between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel, I came upon a situation just west of Mississippi College. A 60 year old African-American nursing assistant, dressed in nursing scrubs and driving an older model Chevrolet Blazer was on the side of the road, her right rear tire shredded. Helping her to change the tire was a white male, mid-30's, a McDaniel voter.
Another white male, mid-50's, a Cochran voter, came upon the scene. He walked beside the car and offered to help in removing the very tight lug nuts. As the Cochran voter loosened the lug nuts, the McDaniel voter raised the car on the jack.
At that same time, a white truck with an African-American male, maybe a Democrat, maybe a crossover Cochran voter, drove up behind the disabled vehicle. He stepped out and walked to the scene, asking the woman if she had a spare. She replied, "In the back." He reached into the back of the Blazer and removed the spare tire. As the bad tire was removed, the spare tire was put in it's place, the driver of the white truck tightening the lug nuts.
Looking back on the scene, it seems to me that the woman on the side of the road with the broken down Blazer is a lot like the state of Mississippi, not the richest with maybe not the best vehicle on the road.
What really struck me was how selflessly the three men helped that woman on a very hot afternoon.
Any one of them could have probably changed the tire by themselves but here they were, three men whose political views were set aside for the greater good of the woman broken down on the side of the road. Three men whose job was made easier by welcoming one another to the process and each doing their part, working together.
Wouldn't it be refreshing to see this type of cooperation and behavior from our politicians and their supporters. Our state and country would be better for it.
