4 More Years

Today America votes for a President or a "Decider and Chief".  Let's hope we have a President for the  next four years.  God only knows what we will have if Romney were elected.  I have been decidedly quite during this campaign cycle.  I'm speechless when it comes to understanding Republican voters.  I'm saddened by the stupidity of people and the process that has created disgust for a great President.  I am disgusted by a man running for President that stands for nothing; no, I mean everything; no, I mean flip a coin.  How the hell can any intelligent being vote for such a dolt as Willard Romney? The etch-a-sketch candidate was very well phrased.

Romney; the schoolyard bully that will send our troops to fight his battles.  His kids won't be fighting, you can be sure of that.  Romney's character can be simply determined by understanding the nature of a man that would hold another human being to the ground and cut off his hair because he saw him as potentially gay.  Romney; the candidate that organized counter protests that favored the war in Vietnam but had no intention of entering the military.  Romney; the candidate that did not once stand up to the hatred exhibited towards his opponent.  On the contrary, Romney endorsed the hatred.  Romney encouraged the hatred.

Barack Obama said it best when he told the American people that Romney's foreign policy was from the 80's, his social policies were from the 50's and his economic policies were from the 30's.  I could not say it better.

Last night I watched Obama's last campaign speech from Iowa. What a class act - enough said!  We will be hearing from Barack Obama for many years following the end of his presidential service in 2016.  The world wants a winner and America has been lifted to great heights because of Obama's leadership.

What has also saddened me this election cycle was the passing of a great man that made the election of Barack Obama more likely.  That man was George McGovern.  George McGovern was a true World War II hero.  McGovern was a pilot of a B24 bomber and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery during war time.  McGovern had to crash land his flying fortress aircraft on 3 occasions and each time brought his crew to safety.  On one occasion he had to pick out a small island in the middle of the Adriatic sea.  He always offered his men the opportunity to bail out but they always trusted him to bring them to safety.  McGovern was a man that saw the necessity of war yet hated war.  He was a man that was to be trusted while "Tricky Dick" was not.

McGovern once said that it was better to be right than to be elected.  I suppose this will provide solace to anyone from the losing side.  One thing for sure; McGovern was no loser and he helped establish the politics of the left and gave us the opportunity to elect a person as great as Barack Obama.  I am proud to have known George McGovern and I'm proud that I stood by him in 1972 and in 1984 as his Rhode Island campaign manager.  You will always be within my thoughts.

In the picture, McGovern and wife Eleanor are standing at the podium in Syracuse New York on October 31, 1972 (not my picture and I apologize for losing the credit).  I am standing in the 3rd row waiting to hear his speech.  As he begins to talk, the church bells begin to ring and drown out his voice for many minutes (probably a Donald Segretti trick).  A little old lady stands behind me and is struggling to see him.  I say to her, "please, stand in front of me so you can see better".  She accepts and moves to the front for 30 seconds then turns to leave.  I say to her, "where are you going?"  She says to me, "I just wanted to see him, I didn't want to hear what he has to say."  Unfortunately, a lot of America is like this.

tomtoak

Why Are We Liberal or Conservative?

In an article published in the Boston Globe just before the election, November 2, 2008, authored by Eve LaPlante, it is reported that scientists are discovering our political leanings may be powerfully influenced by genetics. It was reported that: "...unconscious reaction to threat - how much we startle at frightening images and noise - determine our political views...". Kevin Smith, a University of Nebraska political scientist who co-authored the study which appeared in the "Journal of Science", states: "Political reactions are gut responses rather than rational weighing of pros and cons".

If this is true, it certainly explains a lot. You can never seem to debate somebody long enough to get them to change their mind. I guess my blog won't change any one's mind. That's OK though, progressive thinking people need ways to connect with their own ideas. They certainly can't go to radio talk shows in this state, all they'll find is aggravation. At least liberals now have an outlet on MSNBC at night.

How do I stack up in all of this? My Dad must have had conservative genes (he was from the South), - my Mom must have had liberal genes (she was from Boston). I'm not gun shy. I never startled when a gun is discharged even if I didn't expect it. I've been a hunter all of my life and I believe in gun rights. I guess I should be leaning conservative.

I can point to a moment in my life when my political leanings were cast forever. May 4, 1970 and the shootings at Kent State University. I supported John Kennedy as a kid, but heck, I was only 10. When the Vietnam war started to rage I was supportive of efforts to reign in the Communists. Then one day, something happened. I learned that our Country had been bombing Cambodia without Congressional knowledge - Richard Nixon had been hiding the truth.
I was embarrassed and I had many students telling me, "we told you so". You see, I was one of those students that stood up at campus workshops on Vietnam and spoke in favor of the Nixon Administration. At one point, I held up a copy of the "Communist's Daily Worker" newspaper (yes, you could find these on college campuses in 1970) and called pure propaganda its headline, "Nixon Bombs Cambodia". I told students that this is simply not true as the story would be in the Boston Globe; after all, we have a free press. Many months later, the country learned of Nixon's secret bombing campaign in a neutral country without Congressional knowledge.

I felt a seismic shift in my political thinking on May 4, 1970 and my political destiny was cast in stone. I quit ROTC at the end of the semester and still got my A. I had been lied to by my President and was made a fool for supporting him. That was it; I worked for George McGovern in 1972 and never looked back. I guess it took powerful images at a troubling time to make me a liberal. I don't think that genes played a role.

The bright side in of all of this is that if genes are involved, maybe somebody can develop a pill to cure the problem. My god, I hope liberals come up with the pill first!

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