[Critique Group 1] Fwd: Leonards coments on Martia's piece

[tuchyner5 at aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: tuchyner5 <tuchyner5 at aol.com>
To: group2 <group2 at bluegrasspals.com>
Sent: Fri, Feb 28, 2020 12:03 pm
Subject: Leonards coments on Martia's piece


I wonder what promptedthis piece. 

I agree with everythingyou’ve said.  

If you decide to run foroffice you have my vote.  

You’ve given a  history of the nation from as far back as youcan remember personally. 

It is well done and  thank you

 

 the late side…sorry. They took my Dad offhospice “abruptly” yesterday so we’ve been scrambling to put other support inplace. Warning, my submission this month contains political commentary.

 

An Open Letter

Marcia J. Wick, TheWrite Sisters

February 2020

Word Count:  1182

 

 

 

Dear Friends and Family,

 

I’ve known some of youmy entire life; others of you I’ve connected with more recently along life’strail. It’s never mattered to me your political party. Likewise, my liberalleanings never conflicted with your conservative views. We could complement andquestion each other, compromise and collaborate. I’ve always felt confidentthat we shared good intentions. Neither of us questioned the other’s allegianceto our community. We welcomed opposing points of view in order to find commonground. We gave and took in equal share to maintain balance.

 

I have always countedyou as caring and compassionate without considering your political affiliation.Your politics never influenced my high regard for you and yours. I never fearedthat our political differences could divide us; I didn’t question your familyvalues or commitment to country because of your vote. We’ve worked side-by-sideto improve opportunities for our children, ensure quality care for our aging,and promote enriching activities for persons with disabilities.

 

For nearly 50 years,I’ve been casting my ballot in local and national elections. Along the way,I’ve registered as a Republican, Undeclared, and now Democrat. Despite mychanging party affiliation over time, behind the curtain of an old-fashionedvoting booth, or with the security of a private mail-in ballot, I’ve checkedoff the names of the women and men who I considered most trust-worthy,well-intentioned, and qualified to represent their constituents, regardless ofparty. I assume you have always cast your equally important vote in the sameconsidered way.

 

At times, I’ve voted forwomen and minorities over white men who were in “my” party because I believe inthe value of diversity. In college, I voted for Ronald Reagan because I wasdating a young Republican. I cheered when the President called for Gorbechev to“tear down that wall!” Later, I became a Democrat and voted for Bill Clinton,but I didn’t defend his sexual exploitation of a young intern. His behavior wasunbecoming of the president who should model the highest behavior standard ofall. I supported his impeachment. If we don’t expect the president of the United States to follow the rule of law, why should any of us?

 

Although I didn’t votefor either Bush, and I was quite disappointed with the outcome of thoseelections, I honored both Presidents Bush as “my president” while they served.Despite the “hanging chad” controversy which flipped the outcome from Gore toGeorge W., when the Supreme Court decided the debate, I wanted only for GeorgeW. to honor the trust our country had invested in him. I didn’t like the guy,but I respected him. When he stood in front of the world and spoke as the mostpowerful person on the planet, he did our country proud. He listened to hisadvisors and valued experienced government servants. I never questioned whetherhis first loyalty was to the United States and our Constitution, or to himself.I didn’t worry that he would sell out our people for political gain.

 Their’s thecrux of the matter. 

 

Although I preferredHilary to Obama in 2008, I celebrated the election of a minority and thepromise of change. Again, in 2016, I preferred Hilary over Trump. I so wantedto celebrate the election of a woman for the first time in our history, butinstead I wept myself to sleep that fateful night.

 

In the past, if “mycandidate” lost the race for mayor, governor, senator, or president, I alwayssupported the winner. After all, the duly-elected individual then representedall of us, right? I didn’t worry whether or not elected officials wouldultimately uphold their oath and obligation to serve –the school district, thecity, the county, our country, or the United States Constitution. I have alwaysbacked our leaders and applauded their success regardless of party.

 But you can’tdo that now. Neither can I.

  

If I found myselfunhappy with my representatives, I sucked it up and spoke out. I wrote emailsand made phone calls. I’ve attended town hall meetings and protested outsidecity hall so that my voice was heard. I expressed my views and offeredsuggestions. I didn’t boycott the party agenda or bully my adversaries. Only bycommunicating do we find common ground and purpose.

 

Growing up, I trustedthe network news anchors - Walter Cronkite, Diane Sawyer, or Peter Jennings(who happened to be Canadian). They didn’t broadcast their views, just thenews. They let the viewers process the information and form our own opinions.Whether I tuned into CBS, ABC, or NBC, I could depend on factual, accurate, andbalanced reporting. Politics didn’t entered into the equation. I myself waseducated as a newspaper journalist, and I never framed an article based onpolitical bias. My opinion on the matter wasn’t relevant to my reportingresponsibilities.

Now there is so muchgarbage in the headlines, you don’t know what to trust. 

  

Nowadays, we arebombarded with “news” at such a rapid rate that it’s impossible to process and,more importantly, trust. Many of us have tuned out, or we only tune into thechannels that align with our views. As our culture has abandoned many otherlong-held norms, the neutrality of the media has also been abandoned. It’s nowour personal responsibility to vet the sources and double-check the factsbefore jumping to conclusions.

 Yes.

 

These days, many of usfeel threatened. The nuclear family has morphed into multiple ideas of lovingand committed relationships. We struggled to make ends meet; at least twofull-time incomes are required to cover the cost of child care. This means thatstrangers often raise our children. In addition, young people are exposed to anever-expanding universe of choices – in fashion, in food, in travel andtechnology, in media and meaning, in what is considered “normal.” With the stakeshigher than ever, we have divided into camps – for or against gun control, foror against a woman’s right to choose, for or against immigration and inclusion,instead of standing together for human rights and the common good.

  

 

It isn’t about one partyopposing the other. We are partners in this experiment called Democracy. Mostpeople agree. We need a president who valued honesty, trust, and integrity. Itisn’t an issue of party but of values. The man in the White House and the medialike to divide us – Republicans for Trump, Democrats against. But it’s not thateasy. I don’t have an issue with Republicans; I have an issue with a man whodevalues women and children, who brags about sexual exploits, who separateschildren from family, who enlists foreign interference in our elections, whobullies and brags that he could get away with murder…

 Youwould think everyone would agree with that.

 

Our system ofgovernment is a “Democratic Republic,” not a “Monarchy.” Supreme power residesin the body of citizens who elect representatives responsible to the people andrule of law. One person does not possess sovereign power.

 

It may be the 21st Century,but our Democracy is infantile in the scheme of things.  – Barely 250years old. The history of mankind spans 10 million years. Many civilizationshave risen and fallen. Many walls have been built – crumbling remnants aroundthe world provide evidence of their futility to stop change.

 

Germany still pays the pricefor Hitler who constructed justification for murdering millions less than acentury ago. One hundred years from now…? Where will we be?

 
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