I am a die-hard political junkie. This is not an interest that I came to later in life—I have always been that way. When I was a very young child—I remember begging my parents to turn our one black and white TV to the national news and Walter Cronkite. Can you imagine an 8-year-old asking to watch “Face the Nation”?
Back in the late 70’s, alarm clocks gave you the option to have a radio station wake you up. Think of the movie “Ground Hog Day” where Bill Murray’s character wakes up, day after day, stuck in a time warp, where the radio alarm clock disk jockeys woke him up to Sonny and Cher singing, “I Got You Babe”, in an endless, monotonous loop.
When I was in high school, my alarm clock’s monopolist loop was set to Minnesota Public Radio where Garrison Keillor had a morning radio show called “the Powdermilk Biscuit Hour”—followed by NPR’s “Morning Edition”, which started broadcasting in 1979.
My parents were too busy working for a living to pay much attention to politics. My grandparents were more politically vocal—as they remembered what life was like before Franklin Delanor Roosevelt’s programs saved the country from the Great Depression.
My paternal Grandfather was a World War One veteran with PTSD. In his 70’s at the time of the Vietnam War, he was deeply opposed to “sending boys off to be slaughtered”. My maternal Grandfather lost a farm in the 20’s, leading to a life of trying to find whatever work he could find. He became enamored of the Farmer/Labor party which elected one of Minnesota’s most radical, and popular, Governor’s in Floyd B. Olson.
So, my grandparents were more instrumental in giving me my political values. These values were instilled in them as they lived through the Great Depression and benefitted from the program’s that FDR initiated—expanded 30 years later by President Johnson’s “Great Society”.
Both sets of my grandparents were unable to buy a house until they had regular paychecks from Social Security. Both sets of my grandparents didn’t have healthcare until Medicare. My paternal grandfather was able to buy a house with land enough for a horse which he named “Ladybird” after President Johnson’s wife.
The ruling Politburo of this newspaper has made it very clear to me that national politics are out of bounds without having some sort of local angle. Very well. But our own political biographies certainly inform our choices.
For example, my grandparents were staunch Democrats, yet were subsistence farmers. They benefitted from things like subsidies for the milk they produced to ensure a supply of milk for growing children. My grandparents got electricity due to the Rural Electrification Act. That meant no more harvesting ice in the winter and keeping perishables in an “ice box” or endless canning during the summer.
The government had a positive impact on their lives, and they never forgot it. They remembered what life was like before what was considered the “progressive” era.
You never would have found a “Don’t tread on me” sticker on my grandparents’ cars. So, what happened? Why do I live in an area that is loyal to a party that has been opposed to every advance for rural areas that we have made over the last 90 years?
The Greek philosopher, Socrates said: “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Might that also extend to our political lives? What are our values? Why do we vote the way that we do? Why does Doug LaMalfa, a man who wants to eliminate 90 years of progress in health and welfare programs, keep getting re-elected in a rural area that receives so much in benefits from the Federal Government?
What happened?
I am writing this the day after the assassination attempt on Donald J. Trump. My visceral response, watching the rally on TV, was total revulsion. We have an opportunity right now to look ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves “how much does hatred play a part in our political lives?”
One of my favorite political columnists was the late Alexander Cockburn. To be a good political columnist, he said the question you need to ask yourself is: “how pure is your hate?” Sorry, Alex. Hate isn’t the answer. The better response would be, “how deep is your love”?
Love for the rural areas will get the Democrats a lot farther than hatred of Wall Street. Do we need to tax the rich more? Yes. Do we need to do something about income inequality? Yes. Are there problems to be solved? Yes.
The former Beatle, Ringo Star. turned 84 years of age on the 7th of July. He has turned his birthday into a yearly event where he wants us to stop sometime during the day and say, “peace and love”. Peace and love---good old hippy values that sorely need to be resurrected. He is like the little drummer boy with a seemingly trite, but very important message.
I’ve had enough of hate. Perhaps the best political act, in these fractious times, is to step back and let go of our hatred and turn towards a politics of peace and love. Martin Luther King certainly knew this when he led a movement based on the principles of non-violence.
What are the things that create peace? What are the things that advance a politics of love and joy? What if these were our core values as we approach any issue? What if Ringo Star is right? What if John Lennon was right when he said: “all you need is love”?
Peace and Love everyone. I hope you experience some joy today and every day.