The most influential person in my life was my maternal grandmother, Lela, She was a little tiny spitfire of a woman. She had become politically active early in her life. Born in 1903, 17 years before women even had the right to vote, she cherished that right. Having survived The Great Depression, she had developed tremendous strength and resilience. She was never fearful to speak out.

Grandma Lela was my mentor from early in my life.

As I grew up, grandma and I hung out together a lot. Grandma used our time together to convey important concepts to me, on a huge range of subjects, including politics.

Some of the best advice she ever gave me was to “think for myself” and to boldly and fearlessly “stand up and speak out” especially against injustice. Every day of my 80 years, I appreciate the gift of the moral compass Grandma Lela instilled in me as a child.

I took her advice to heart. To this day, I pay attention to everything, even that which is difficult to watch.

And currently in our society there’s a lot of appalling stuff on display.

What I have done to contend with the plethora of emotions is follow grandma’s advice, and to stand up and speak my mind.

I did my research and found a local group called Voices United of Rural Linn County. This group is made up of a diverse range group of people from many different political viewpoints or different opinions in general. This group welcomed me and invited me to “stand up and speak up” just like Grandma did.

You may have seen us in downtown Mount Vernon on Saturdays. We stand with our flags and signs that address our many concerns about our country. We do this because we know our country can be better. I look forward to each of these rallies because I’m motivated for America to do better and be better. My other motivation is to honor the teachings of my Grandma Lela.

I’d like to welcome everyone to join us for stand up events.

Lori Parrish Niemi
Mount Vernon