"Back to Basics"

By Representative Vic Kohring

I moved to Alaska 34 years ago from the Chicago area, at the age of 4. After driving the Alcan, my family settled in Chugiak (off Birchwood Loop Road), where we resided for the duration of the '60's. My parents purchased a small one- bedroom house on what was later named "Kohring Street". As they tell it, the main reason they bought that particular house was because their young son (me) loved the woods so much and pleaded that they please buy the place. It was in that house that soon after, my family endured the trauma of President Kennedy's assassination, followed by the Great Alaska Earthquake.

We were a poor family, but poor only in terms of financial resources. In terms of our faith in God, love and respect among family members and support from neighbors, we were quite wealthy. In fact, I have nothing but good memories of that era. This was despite living in crowded conditions, using an outhouse, having to haul water and relying on salmon, moose meat and growing our own food. And it was during these years of my youth that I formed my conservative family values, which are reflected to this day in my work as a state legislator, over 3 decades later.

I received my strong work ethic from my father. What I remember about him was that he was almost always gone from home. I was very much impressed by that though, being keenly aware that he was hard at work (in construction, a trade passed along to me) struggling to do his utmost to keep a roof over his family's head, put food on the table to feed 5 hungry kids, and keep ahead of a mountain of bills.

My passion comes from my mother. She was the moral guiding light in our household, the one who taught us to love and respect each other, the one who was always there for me when I got home from school each day. I'll never forget the wonderful sense of security her very presence provided me as a child, knowing that she would always be there when I got off the bus.

Both parents also made sure my brothers and sisters and I contributed around the house with assigned chores, were disciplined when needed (I vividly remember the sting of that strap), and faithfully went to church--Church in the Wildwood in Eagle River--3 times a week to fellowship with friends and study the Bible.

As I reflect back, my parents were quiet but thoughtful people, and didn't actually provide a lot of verbal instruction and stipulating strict rules. Instead of "preaching" to me in this manner, they taught by example--from how they lead their own lives. As an adult, I now recognize that such deeds definitely speak louder than words. Likewise here in Juneau, what we do and how we vote is so much more important that any promises made on the campaign circuit.

My family likes to refer to the '64 earthquake as our "initiation" to Alaska, occurring just 9 months after our move to the state. What is most profound in my memory of that experience, was the camaraderie demonstrated by friends and neighbors--where we rallied around each other to help rebuild and get our community back on its feet. We did so without the aid of government, proving that families helping families and neighbors helping neighbors are superior to any welfare program.

The same could be said of last year's Miller's Reach fire, where the community (for the most part) took care of its own needs. It's not to say that such government programs are inappropriate per se, because their basic intent is to help those truly in need. But rather, that they've proliferated to the point where they essentially take care of everyone's needs. I disagree with that, and feel individuals should be responsible for themselves and not become dependents of government.

My conclusion is that our society needs to get back the basics. The basics of family and community, where families are a strong cohesive unit and values are taught. Where communities take care of their own social problems, without relying on government to do so. This is the way it has been in our country's history, and with success, and there's no reason why we can't return to that.

Our great state and country has not lost its potential, as many doomsayers proclaim. Despite the moral decline, we can still turn it around if we truly believe in ourselves.