Education, transportation and health care was what I ran and won

In the steadfast words of Tony Evers, servant of the people and leader of quiet strength, there lies a truth older than any government, yet as urgent as the dawn: “Education, transportation, and health care was what I ran and won on. That's what we're going to be focused on.” These are not mere political promises, but the foundations of a just and enduring civilization. For where there is knowledge, movement, and healing, there too is life. To focus upon these three is to build not only the prosperity of a people, but the dignity of their souls.

In the wisdom of ages past, great rulers and philosophers knew that the strength of a nation does not lie in its armies nor its gold, but in the well-being and wisdom of its citizens. The scholar-king Ashoka of India, after the wars of blood and sorrow, turned his empire toward compassion—building hospitals, schools, and roads so that all may live in peace. Evers’s words, though spoken in the language of democracy, echo the same eternal lesson: that to govern well is to serve, to build bridges not only of stone but of opportunity, and to heal the body of the people as one would tend a sacred trust.

Let us begin with education, the first of his triad. The ancients called it illumination, the bringing forth of light from the darkness of ignorance. Without it, a nation gropes blindly, enslaved by the shadows of fear and division. With it, the poorest child becomes the architect of tomorrow. Tony Evers, himself once a teacher, speaks from the heart of one who has seen what learning can awaken in the human spirit. For to educate is not merely to fill the mind, but to lift the soul—to teach the young that they are heirs to possibility, not prisoners of circumstance.

Next, there is transportation, the lifeblood of connection. From the Roman roads that bound an empire, to the silk routes that wove together continents, humanity has always known that movement is the breath of progress. To build roads, bridges, and rails is to unite the scattered tribes of men and women into a single body. It allows the farmer to share his harvest, the student to reach her school, the healer to reach the sick. In this way, Evers’s vision recalls the wisdom of the ancients: that to strengthen the paths between people is to strengthen the people themselves.

And lastly, health care, the third pillar—the guardian of life. In the temples of Asclepius, in the healing springs of ancient lands, our ancestors saw the divine in the act of healing. To care for the sick was to honor the gods of compassion, to restore balance between flesh and spirit. Evers’s promise to focus on health is not just a policy; it is a moral stance. For a society that neglects its sick is like a tree that lets its roots rot—it may stand tall for a season, but it will surely fall. Health care is the heartbeat of civilization; without it, all else decays.

These three—education, transportation, and health—form a trinity of harmony. Together, they lift the mind, connect the body, and sustain the spirit of a nation. They are the instruments through which justice becomes real, not abstract. When a child learns, when a traveler moves freely, when a patient is healed, the state fulfills its noblest purpose: to serve life itself. Tony Evers, in his simplicity, reminds us of this sacred duty, and in doing so, speaks with the voice of the ancients through the heart of the modern age.

The lesson, then, is this: to build a better world, one must begin with what sustains the human being. Let every citizen, every leader, every worker remember these three as the compass of progress. Support education, for knowledge is the torch of freedom. Protect transportation, for movement is the strength of unity. Guard health care, for life is the first wealth of all.

And so, let Evers’s words stand as both guide and commandment for the generations to come. Do not seek glory in the transient things of power; seek it in the enduring work of nurturing your people. For when education enlightens, transportation connects, and health care heals, the world becomes whole—and in that wholeness, humanity finds its true victory.