Alabama should expect better—and demand it

“That’s just Alabama.” The words usually follow something that ought to trouble us: another poor ranking, another public failure, another promise left unfulfilled. Sometimes they carry frustration, sometimes affection, often exhaustion. We have seen this before. We know how it goes. But familiarity with failure can become dangerous when it begins to determine what we believe we deserve.

Alabama gives its people abundant reasons to expect a good life. From the mountains and forests of north Alabama to the rivers, fertile land and white beaches along the Gulf Coast, this state possesses extraordinary beauty and resources. There is much here to cherish and much to build upon. Our ambitions for the people who live here should reflect that abundance.

Yet we regularly confront the distance between Alabama’s possibilities and the circumstances of too many of its families. The 2026 Kids Count Data Book reports that about 226,000 Alabama children, roughly 1 in 5, lived in poverty in 2024. Each is growing up now, with needs and possibilities that cannot wait for a more convenient time.

The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that 414 infants died before their first birthday that year, a rate of 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births. That was down from 7.8 the year before but still well above the provisional national rate of 5.5. The improvement deserves recognition, along with the work that produced it. The losses should keep us from becoming satisfied.

These figures should guide our priorities and strengthen our resolve. They should never teach us to expect less. A child born in Alabama deserves the same concern for health, education and opportunity as a child born anywhere else. Geography cannot diminish that obligation, and a long history of disappointing results cannot excuse another generation of them.

With the general election little more than a week away, both men who want to be governor have made concrete proposals for Alabama’s future. Tommy Tuberville has committed to fully funding First Class Pre-K and preventing rural hospital closures. Doug Jones proposes expanding Medicaid and providing free community college for adults without credentials. Both support eliminating the remaining state grocery tax. These are only some of their commitments, but they give voters clear measures for judging the next administration.

Neither man can deliver his agenda alone. But voters should hold the next governor to the commitments he made while seeking office. They deserve an honest accounting of what gets accomplished, what falls short and why.

Public power carries moral responsibility because public decisions reach into other people’s lives. A budget can determine whether help is available. A neglected institution can leave families with nowhere to turn. A well-run program can give someone the opportunity to become independent. These consequences deserve more consideration than whether a decision produces a favorable headline or satisfies a political constituency.

Self-reliance belongs at the center of what we should want for Alabama. There is dignity in earning a living, supporting a family and building something through personal effort, and people should take responsibility for their choices. They should also have a fair chance to make that responsibility count.

A sound education, useful training, dependable roads and clean water are practical foundations for opportunity, and providing them competently is part of government’s work. Leaders who speak about personal responsibility should recognize their own: helping create conditions in which effort has a reasonable chance of success. A decent state must also meet its obligations to children, older people and neighbors whose circumstances limit what they can do for themselves.

Quality of life comes down to ordinary realities. Can a paycheck cover the necessities? Can a family in a rural county still reach a hospital when illness comes? Can parents trust that their children are learning? Can people work hard and still have enough time and security to enjoy the place they call home? The answers belong in any honest assessment of Alabama’s success.

There are reasons people have grown skeptical. They have heard ambitious promises and watched familiar problems survive election after election. Most are busy supporting their families and managing difficulties that leave little time to follow government. Their weariness is understandable. But accepting low expectations makes it easier for those in power to avoid answering difficult questions.

Words matter, but deeds prove them. Campaign promises should remain part of the public record after the signs come down. Leaders deserve credit for meaningful progress, and they owe the public honest explanations when commitments go unmet. The standard should apply to every officeholder, regardless of party, profession of faith or political label. Accepting the authority to govern means accepting responsibility for how that authority is used.

Demanding better does not require a title or a microphone. It requires remembering. Keep a list of what candidates promised this fall. Ask the governor, your legislators and your local officials about it next spring, and the spring after that. Expectations that outlast an election make promises harder to ignore.

Alabama’s people deserve more than reassurance that things are improving and reminders that things could be worse. They deserve sustained attention to the conditions that make their lives harder and serious work toward the opportunities that can make their lives better. We can recognize accomplishments while insisting that unfinished work remains urgent.

Loving Alabama should give us the confidence to expect more of it and the determination to demand more from those entrusted with its future. Our children deserve to inherit that love and a state where expecting a good life feels reasonable.

Today, people say, “That’s just Alabama,” with a shrug. With leaders willing to face hard problems—and deliver results that improve people’s lives—they could one day say it with pride.