Brian Echevarria is biracial, multilingual, and multicultural. He doesn’t look much like my distant cousin John Kissinger but he reminds me of him in the deepest ways. Both men, separated in time by a century, were in the news this past week because of their heroism. Both men in their different ways represent the greatness of America—not found primarily in the credentialed elites but in ordinary citizens.
Echevarria, the GOP candidate for the 73rd District seat in North Carolina’s General Assembly, made the news because of a dynamite speech to his school board about what parents demand. Kissinger was in the news because the Congressional Gold Medal this Army private was awarded for his service in fighting yellow fever after the Spanish American War went on sale. One’s service was political while one’s was medical. While many people in the news don’t deserve to be, these two do because they represent what, humanly speaking, is the hope for our country: a citizenry ready to stand up, serve, and make sacrifices in whatever circumstances they find themselves.
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