S1E6: Mark Begich

As I write this, I have a tab open to an ongoing conversation on Facebook with a friend whose political beliefs are diametrically opposed to my own. He and I have managed to establish a civil, even friendly tone. And to his credit, he’s even encouraged his friends to do the same. And I have seen that we are listening to each other and it creates this energy between us that feels like it can accomplish things. If you gave us a task to accomplish, I think he and I could get it done.

But we all have have our own story to tell about social media and politics, don’t we? It is one of our culture’s common experiences now. The most unique story happens to be the person who has not had an argument on Facebook. Even more unique is the person who stays off of social media entirely.

Beyond all of these discussions, I actually really enjoy politics. When I first moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1999, I had my state representative, a kind woman named Gretchen Guess, come to my door and she stood for a full 20 minutes listening and educating me on how I could participate in the civics of my local community. It left an impression on me and drove me to become involved in politics, working with candidates running for state senate and state house and giving me an opportunity to learn the inner mechanisms of how Alaskans could achieve and evolve as a people.

One of the smartest people I met along the way was Mark Begich, who served as Mayor of Anchorage for two terms and served as US Senator for one term. Mark is in the private sector these days but still heavily involved in the political workings of the state. He and I had a great conversation about the current state of politics and where we go from here. My big takeaway: it’s time for me to get involved more actively in my new home on the island of Maui.

Enjoy. And then make sure to vote.

-DGT