O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

We hear a lot about arguing and infighting among members of the NH House, especially across party lines. However, that is not always the case. I am writing today to publicly praise Steve Pearson, who is not the same political party as I am. However, when I needed help, he immediately came to my aid.

I was T-boned on a street on the West Side of Manchester earlier this week. My car was smashed pretty badly. It will be up to the insurance company what to do with it. I couldn’t get out of the driver’s side door because of the damage. 

Steve was the first responder, but he didn’t allow partisan politics to interrupt his work as an EMT. He assisted me in getting out of the car and assessed to see if I was OK. He knew who I was, but didn’t let that stop him from doing his job.

I am very appreciative of his tending to my needs, such that I wanted to make sure the public knew about this. When all is said and done, we are all human beings. Most of us recognize the same problems in society, but our differences arise in how we believe said problems should be fixed. That causes massive amounts of division, especially in places like the State House. But when members can come together and treat each other’s human needs despite those differences, it says a lot about the character of the person.

I hope to remain in the State House for a while. I am appreciative that there are members like Steve that are there, too. I hope for more interactions like the one that happened today – that was peaceful, kind, and professional – and less fighting, which hinders getting work accomplished. I hope that by publicly recognizing another person’s good works, others will be inspired to show the same to the people around them.

Beg to differ? Agree to disagree? Thoughtful prose on topics of general interest are welcome. Submit content for consideration to publisher@manchesterinklink.com, subject line, The Soapbox.