Communist dictator Mao Tse Tung was fond of quoting Laozi, who said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Dennis Collins is neither a Taoist philosopher nor a dictator. The physician’s assistant, husband and father from Jacksonville, Illinois, is fine with that. “I’m just a private citizen,” says Collins. “I saw something that I thought wasn’t right and needed to be righted and it worked out for us.”
What Collins saw was a ballot referendum that would have raised the sales tax in his county. With his area facing a tough economy and job losses, he didn’t think raising taxes made any sense.
So he took the first step; he called some neighbors and, together, they formed “Morgan County CARE.” CARE stands for Citizens Acting for Responsible Education.
“We knew we were outgunned from the start, but we just did the best we could,” Collins recalls in a video produced by the Illinois Policy Institute.
On a budget of just $3,100 and shoe leather, group members went door-to-door and made countless phone calls. “We went out and gave an honest message,” Collins explains, “and ended up making a change.” They defeated the tax hike.
“When I go to the store and see the sales tax receipt it feels very good,” Collins explains after the victory at the polls. “I’m thinking about the less fortunate and the elderly that are on fixed incomes and knowing they aren’t going to have to struggle any more than they currently are.”
“Individual citizens do need to step up and try to make change,” says Collins. That’s not the voice of a history-making dictator or a philosopher, but a community-protecting American citizen.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.