An American Tragedy

By Nasnunt @Adobe Stock

RIP Mia Love

The first elected black Republican congresswoman (Utah) died this past weekend at the age of 49. Mia Love succumbed to glioblastoma, a horrific kind of brain cancer that also killed Sen. John McCain in 2018 and Sen. Edward Kennedy in 2009.

When Mia’s cancer stopped responding to her treatments, she used her remaining days to focus on her family, to make the most of the time they had left together, to gather memories with her family as she prepared to leave them. She died surrounded by family.

Before she died, Mia wrote a letter to America, not to say goodbye but to express her thanks to the America she knew. Mia Love was the daughter of Haitian immigrants.

Unsure how long she had left, she would have titled her letter a “dying wish” had she not thought it overdramatic, even, as she admitted, for a person as dramatic as she.

Below is Mia Love’s “enduring wish’ for you, for America, from the Desert News:

Mia Love’s America: 

Source: U.S. House of Representatives

Let me tell you about the America I know. My parents immigrated to the United States with $10 in their pocket and a belief that the America they had heard about really did exist as the land of opportunity. Through hard work and great sacrifice, they achieved success — so the America I came to know growing up was filled with all the excitement found in living the American dream. I was taught to love this country, warts and all, and understand I had a role to play in our nation’s future. I learned to passionately believe in the possibilities and promise of America. 

Watching my father and mother work odd jobs … to provide for us and maintain their independence taught me valuable lessons in personal responsibility. When tough times came they didn’t look to Washington, they looked within. Because the America they knew was centered in self-reliance, the America I know is founded in the freedom self-reliance always brings. 

What makes America great is the idea that when government is limited and decisions are made closest to the people they impact, people are free — free to work, free to live, free to choose, free to fail and free to achieve. The America I know provides everyone an equal opportunity to be as unequaled as they choose to be. 

The America I know gives back. Americans, regardless of financial status, are the most giving people on the planet. On their own, without government requirement, our people give their money, their time and their attention to causes, communities and people in need whether it is across the street or around the world. I’ve experienced this generosity throughout my life and during my battle with cancer. I am so grateful. 

The America I know makes tough choices. As the mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah, facing its own fiscal cliff, we put limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility first to create an amazing community that could last. I have also seen that facing challenging choices head-on inspires our citizens to get involved, engage in meaningful dialogue, rally around shared values, do things differently and change the way government works. 

Regardless of the difficulties we may face individually, in our families, in our communities and in our nation, the old adage is still true — you can make excuses or you can make progress, but you cannot make both! The America I know doesn’t make excuses.

The America I know is grounded in the gritty determination found in patriots, pioneers and struggling parents, in small business owners with big ideas, in the farmers who work in the beauty of our landscapes and the artists who paint them, in our heroic military and our inspiring Olympic athletes, and in every child who looks at the seemingly impossible and says, “I can do that.”

The America I know is great — not because government made it great but because ordinary citizens like me, like my parents and like you are given the opportunity every day to do extraordinary things. That is the America I know!