Why Missouri Common Sense?

It started when I was reading a book about the famous pamphlet Common Sense which aided in the formation of our country. The logic seemed to mesh well with the attitude of Missourians. You see, those of us who were born here take our heritage seriously.

It was Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver who gave us our nickname, The Show Me State. At a Naval banquet, he declared, "“I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

That kind of common sense has stuck with us through the years. From the coolness of the fictional Josey Wales - "Around here, we got a thing called a Missourah boat ride" - to FDR calling for Harry Truman to be his Vice President, that "mule from Missouri," that stubbornness is a point of pride. It's not easy to fool a man from Missouri.

You've got to Show Me. I don't have all the answers, but I know how to find them.