In their article "The Only Sane Choice for Akron Mayor is, Insane!" they write:
He has proven that he is not afraid to buck the system when he feels the system is wrong. I don't see Lewis "playing ball" just for the sake of politics. If I'd have to compare Lewis to another politician I'd say he is a mix of Donald Trump without the racism and Jimmy Carter without the meagerness. He believes in helping those that need it most, he has no problem saying exactly how he feels rather people like it or not. He is an off the cuff, off his rocker candidate and I believe that is what Akron needs. The most sane choice for us as a city in 2023 is seemingly a man I am not 100% sure is sane himself.
- Michael Long
I'm VERY thankful and honored for this endorsement.
There are times I feel like Don Quixote "tilting at windmills."
He believes the windmills are giant foes that need to be defeated. But we all know that Don Quixote is mad. The scene, possibly the most famous in all of literature, represents our own impractical battles with imaginary or over-inflated enemies.
As I'm yelling into the wind I sometimes stop and ask myself, "Am I the insane one here?"
"Am I the only one seeing what I'm seeing here?"
I sometimes stand at my kitchen sink saying to my wife over and over again, "There are PEOPLE living unsheltered in the richest country in the world." I just say it over and over again.
I am currently being sued by the City of Akron for sheltering homeless people.
I told the magistrate that "No one thinks this sounds more insane than me, but I am telling you: 'I have been commanded by God to shelter people with no shelter."
She calmly and rationally said to me, like she's speaking to an insane man, "We all sometimes have to put our beliefs aside to abide by the law."
I. Feel. Insane.
Everyone in power just keeps telling me how what I'm doing is wrong. They patronizingly tell me that I have a "good heart" but I need to stop breaking the law.
But then I think of all the people who illegally moved slaves through the underground railroad to get them to safety in Canada.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 - Wikipedia
In response to the weakening of the original Fugitive Slave Act, Senator James M. Mason of Virginia drafted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which penalized officials who did not arrest someone allegedly escaping from slavery, and made them liable to a fine of $1,000 (equivalent to $32,570 in 2021). Law enforcement officials everywhere were required to arrest people suspected of escaping enslavement on as little as a claimant's sworn testimony of ownership. Habeas corpus was declared irrelevant, and the Commissioner before whom the fugitive from slavery was brought for a hearing—no jury was permitted, and the alleged refugee from enslavement could not testify—was compensated $10 if he found that the individual was proven a fugitive, and only $5 if he determined the proof to be insufficient. In addition, any person aiding a fugitive by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Officers who captured a fugitive from slavery were entitled to a bonus or promotion for their work.
These people must have felt just as insane as me.
We have since learned the truth by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr.
“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
We must repeatedly check our moral compass in a world that has lost their own moral compass.
The sane person in the insane asylum looks insane to everyone around him.
If sanity is letting veterans, senior citizens, pregnant women and single women drift through our streets with nowhere to safely lay their head then I will gladly stand with the "insane." Because sanity is now an alternative universe where compassion and understanding is irrational and illegal. I refuse to abide by that definition of sanity.
I just want to put this out there to everyone that keeps putting Sage Lewis name in the dirt I honestly don't think you all really give the man enough credit I get what you THINK he is doin is wrong but think about it if it wasn't for this man you know how much worse things would be not only does he try everything in his power to keep homeless people off the streets and away from your neighborhood this man gives homeless people a feeling of purpose you know he makes people feel like they aren't the scum dirtbag drug addict criminals alot of folks make them out to be and trust me to be at that point in your life being able to have that feeling goes alot further than everyone thinks if we lived everyday feeling that we were those scum addicts then thats how were gonna act cause thats how everyone sees us anyway so y not right but no he gives people a since of love he connects with each of us in our own lil way so we actually feel like we are normal human beings he has never condoned any of us to go get high or commit any crimes he has always tried his best to stare us away from that behavior I mean I honestly think that man is a true blessing to alot of people and he does so much more than just that all I'm asking is try to really look at all he does and honestly tell me he is not putting some good in to our community instead of just trying to be so judgemental what if you were one of us you could only be so lucky to have the opportunity of knowing that man just think about it I for one am so grateful to have somebody like him in my life when I really needed someone he is truly a remarkable man and if you put the judgemental opinions aside I think you can see it to everyone have a blessed day and stay safe out there thanks for your time
...thank you for everything you do for everyone and being so understanding when it comes to different people and different personalities and mindsets you are a great man and I vouch for you till the day I die thank you so much man all you do goes so much further than you think man we love you and God bless you
Paid For By The People for Sage Lewis