Readers suggest ideas for new Iowa motto
A Letter From Iowan Gordie Felger
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill Feb. 28 that removes gender identity as a protected class under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. As of July 1, it will become legal to discriminate against gender-nonconforming Iowans. Substack writer Colonel D wrote “Iowa needs to change State Motto” in response.
Iowa’s current state motto reads, “Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain.”
Colonel D’s proposed motto?
“YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!”
Well said, Colonel D! Yes, it seems that the liberties of SOME Iowans are prized. The rights of SOME Iowans are maintained. The rest of y’all can get the hell out!
In the spirit of Colonel D’s suggestion, I asked Substack readers to write their own Iowa state mottos. Here are their replies.
Kim submitted three suggestions:
“Prepare to Travel Backwards”
“Cis White Males Only (And Cis TradWives)”
“We’re Watching You!”
David wrote:
“Check the government before you move here”
Then Colonel D topped his own suggestion with a second one:
"YOUR RIGHTS WE WILL DECIDE AND YOUR LIBERTIES WE WILL REVIEW"
There you have the results of my reader poll. Thank you, Colonel D, Kim, and David for your ideas!
Leave your ideas for Iowa’s new state motto below.
I’ll share the best or the most popular suggestion with my state representative and senator. Maybe they’ll introduce a bill to make it official!
Gordie Felger
Hiawatha, Iowa
This originally appeared on Felger’s Substack, wtfiowa.substack.com.
Letters From Iowans is a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We encourage you, our subscribers, to share your perspective in this column. To make your voice heard, use this form to send us your essay:
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Reynolds and Trump's anti-DEI policies have birthed a new, unwelcome DEI: Driving Expertise (or Everyone) from Iowa.
The state now appears hostile to its nearly million-strong racial and cultural minority communities, including some 240,000 Latinos, 140,000 Black individuals, at least 100,000 LGBTQ+ Iowans, and over 400,000 members of the disability community, plus other non-white Iowans. This contrasts sharply with how Iowa aggressively courts its 153,680 farm producers and 71,748 agricultural workers—also a minority, but one the state desperately wants to retain. (I will let others discuss the interplay between minority employees who our farm sector depends upon).
Iowa rolls out red carpets for certain minority populations while systematically alienating everyone else. Farm subsidies flow freely, agricultural tax breaks multiply, and rural development funds pour in.
But mention diversity programs for racial minorities or protections for LGBTQ+ Iowans, and suddenly "government overreach" becomes the rallying cry.
This isn't about supporting ag–there is plenty of debate on what are the best Ag policies for Iowa.. This is about Iowa's selectivity in which minorities deserve welcome and which deserve hostility. The state's message couldn't be clearer: some minorities deserve government programs, others don't.
And this is not an either/or situation. There are plenty of Iowans who are creative and welcoming to have the right climate for racial and cultural minorities and for many types of farming and Ag-related business
Your Rights We Despise, White Male Privilege We Defend.