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Hi, I'm Stuart Shepard. This is Stoplight from North Carolina!
I love the ocean. One favorite spot is right here at Wrightsville Beach. My favorite sea
food place is here. I can wear shoes like this and nobody says anything. It's peaceful!
I've seen a lot of changes here over the years. This is a hotel on the north end of
the island. I can remember when a combination of hurricanes and wave actions cut the beach
way back -- all the way up to the base of the building.
They used sandbags to fend off the water. Frankly, I thought it was hopeless.
But now when I'm standing here near the water's edge, the hotel is waaaaay over there.
The same energy that moved the shore closer eventually, with a little help from the humans,
was moved back out there.
North Carolina kinda did the same thing in the last election -- they changed the balance
of power in the Legislature.
That change allowed pro-life legislation to get a vote and to pass. They even managed
to get a marriage protection amendment on the ballot.
There are times I look at the nation and I see that storms have moved the shoreline.
The foundation seems to be at risk. It might even look hopeless.
But I know that the same energy that brought us here can also move us back -- over time.
It's not a one-year thing or maybe even a one-decade thing.
Well if they'd let me borrow this we might be able to speed things up a little.
The first thing that has to happen is for people to realize it's not hopeless. We can turn it around. The tide's changing.