What I Want to Build

And How It Will Strengthen America

Before I lay the cornerstone of my ambition, I want to recognize the greater foundation on which I build. My life rests on the small and careful work of my great grandfather, Opa. Having never passed the eighth grade, this German maize farmer’s work was never on a big scale. Instead, Opa worked for quality and a good relationship with the land and community. It was these virtues on which he built a life that helped fund his later 10 grandchildren’s educations. Though I may never take up farming, I choose to build for the same reason as my Opa. I also want to build well with what I have for the place and people in my community.

Likewise, I seek to emulate many of the fathers and mothers of America who built with the knowledge and insight they were given. With their tenacity to the truth, they sought to order this nation for the liberty of its people. While many of their ideas ultimately shaped the whole country, these men and women built with their words from specific places. It was from pulpits, papers, soapboxes, stages, stairs, and barstools that our fathers and mothers fought for the liberty of their fellow citizens. America was only raised because their words first built up their community

Following these examples, I am free to turn my expectations and energy towards building well and with care. This pursuit comes into tension with the current philosophy  that ‘scale’ is a virtue, “bigger is better.” When scale is itself a good, detached from quality or relationship, our building becomes cancerous and economic incentives quickly turn it into a consuming conquest. This dangerous philosophy, however, is not inherent to our American nation. As a citizen, my duty is to steward and serve my nation in my location and at my capacity.

This purpose to steward and build at one’s capacity is the strength of America that underlies our institutions, government, and economic success. Some will be called to serve in great capacity. There are institutional and systemic breakdowns that do need to be addressed on high and low levels. But, fundamentally, America is a nation of citizens, not an institution of members. One’s work influences fellow citizens, one’s work influences other's through unique relationships. Work is good when it’s care and quality enriches the interacting relationships. The goodness of work is not equivalent to scale. I love and build for my country by loving and building for my fellow Americans. Whether with words, food, bricks, software, concrete, or Clorox, we follow my Opa, with his land and tools. We build with care for our community first.