Learning about politics vital for community

George W. Norris Home curator Laurie Skinner speaks to a group of UNK students on a recent tour.

Courtesy photo

Earlier this week, I helped with a tour of downtown McCook for visiting University of Nebraska at Kearney students focusing on medical careers. It is a privilege to host visitors and share with them what makes McCook unique and worthy of a visit.

The stops included many historical and “only in McCook” locations such as Nebraska’s only James Beard Award-winning restaurant, Sehnert’s Bakery; Nebraska’s only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home, the Sutton House; and the boyhood home of Ben Nelson, McCook’s most recent politician to serve in a national office.

The tour wrapped up with a stop at the George W. Norris Home. As Norris Home curator Laurie Skinner quizzed the two young students, it quickly became apparent that these Nebraska students were not well versed about Norris, Nebraska’s Unicameral, the Tennessee Valley Authority or the U.S. Constitution’s 20th Amendment. On a positive note, they had heard of John F. Kennedy, who devoted a chapter to Norris in the book “Profiles in Courage.”

I wish the lack of understanding about Norris and McCook’s rich political history was unique to these couple students, but unfortunately, I doubt even McCook students and residents are fully aware of the impact that Norris as well as all our local politicians have had on our communities, our state and our nation.

As I was leaving the Norris House, I remembered to sign into the guest book. Unfortunately, the visitors are sparse. It was truly sad to see. Granted, it has been cold outside and we aren’t in the prime tourist season, but I challenge everyone to remember the last time they intentionally visited a local historical site.

Why is this important?

For starters, it is an opportunity to learn what makes our community special. And every time I stop by one of our local locations, I learn something new.

For example, I knew that Norris was instrumental in getting the 20th Amendment into law, which is usually known as the lame-duck amendment. Adopted on Jan. 23, 1933, the amendment reduced the presidential transition and the “lame duck” period, by which members of Congress and the president serve the remainder of their terms after an election by moving the induction of new officials from March to January following the election.

While not glamorous or glitzy, the amendment is important because it eliminates or reduces the possibility of out-going officials creating and passing laws that they will not have any accountability for moving forward.

But did you know that Norris’ leadership in getting the 20th amendment passed puts him in the same company as Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln as the only politicians to oversee the passage of an amendment from start to finish, according to Skinner. In the case of the 20th amendment, it took 12 years of perseverance from Norris to get the amendment into law.

It is important to visit these locations to remember the importance of being involved and informed. The basement of the Nelson boyhood home is filled with memorabilia from his time as Nebraska’s governors and as U.S. Senator, where he made an impact for generations to come.

And being involved and informed isn’t limited to just learning from the past.

Current Nebraska Gov. Pillen visited McCook this week in the lead-up to his state-of-the-state address. This was an opportunity to ask questions, face-to-face, with decision-makers who affect our day-to-day lives.

Every other week, State Sen. Murman conducts a conference call with his McCook constituents on Thursdays at 8:15 a.m. It is open to the public, via Zoom or by listening to the conference call as a group at the Keystone Business Center. Again, this provides an opportunity to ask questions or just learn what is going on in the Unicameral from those on the front lines.

From a McCook perspective, it is perhaps more important than ever to pay attention to what is going on as rules are stripped away that make the Unicameral format function with the possibility of eliminating the one-house format altogether as a possibility.

Take the opportunity to visit our local, historic, heritage sights in McCook or around the state. Carve out a few minutes to visit with your state senators or national officials.

Don’t hesitate to visit with our local city council members and county commissioners when you see them on the sidewalks. The more informed and involved we are as a community, the better our community will be for future generations.