Sunday, February 21, 2016
Be Political - at least a little!
2/21/2016
Hello, Everyone,
I am simply sharing an email about the need to participate in a political event. I just wrote it for my daughters and grandkids - some of whom live in the states of Georgia and Colorado which are holding main political events the first week of March. Review it if you like. OK? Thanks!
All is well here in Laramie. Be in touch as you wish.
Gently,
Francis William Bessler
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2016 02:16 PM
Subject: Primaries/Caucuses on March 1st in Georgia and Colorado
2/21/2016
Hi, Kids,
Just a reminder that if you live in Colorado or Georgia - previous home states of mine - be aware that your state will be in caucus or primary voting on Super Tuesday - March 1st. It is up to you to decide how you want to vote - if you want to vote or participate at all; but for what it's worth, I probably would be participating if I were there.
I think that If I had not chosen to be a philosopher in life, I would have probably chosen to be a politician. In high school, I was known to be involved in political thinking and was voted to be a future senator of Wyoming because of that; however, as you know, my path ventured into religious and philosophical enterprises. Perhaps I should have considered doing both, but my brain is just too small to be too active in too many things, know what I mean?
Still, I do believe some minor to major political involvement is necessary to just be an American. None of us should simply abdicate any involvement at all under whatever pretense we might choose. Our freedom as Americans requires some political commitment, don't you agree?
Our primaries in Wyoming are not until August, but Georgia will be holding its primary a week from Tuesday; and Colorado will be holding caucuses on that same day. Personally, I prefer a primary over a caucus because a primary just allows one of a given party to go in and vote without having to sit around and discuss stuff with fellow party members in order to choose candidates who will appear later in a primary, but if I had to do that caucus thing, I guess I would - as I did when living in Colorado.
Back in 1968, I was very strongly in favor of Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota for President - even though Colorado in general was not. So I attended an Adam's County caucus and stood up for Eugene. As I remember, I was selected to go forward as a delegate for Eugene to an additional caucus event, but Eugene was not favored in that further event - and so my days as a delegate for Eugene ended; but America could have been a different nation had Eugene been elected. I still think about that and know that today. Sure, Eugene lost, and Hubert Humphrey won the Democratic nomination that year - to only lose to Richard Nixon in the general election; but my vote did not go to waste. For I am still a fan of Eugene today - and in some way, "we" are still going forward.
Likewise, here in Wyoming in 2004, I was a strong fan of Senator John Kerry. Being so, I attended early Wyoming caucuses to stand up for John. John and I went forward to the state convention in Sheridan. That is, in that year, John Kerry was popular enough for me to last as a delegate all the way to a state convention. In that state convention, John Kerry, my man, was voted to be among those who would appear in our primary later that year. Eventually, John was selected as the Democrat to represent Wyoming in the general election in November - though he would lose to George W. Bush and a fellow former Wyomingite - Dick Cheney - who was selected by George to be his Vice President.
I was very strong for John Kerry because he was against our invasion of Iraq - as I was. In my opinion, America has never decided for a more wrong course than our decision to invade Iraq in 2003 - supposedly to combat terrorism by replacing a dictator with a "democratic" government. Democracies - true democracies - are chosen by those within them - not imposed from without. What a horrible course that was to invade a country to try to make it better! I was so against that from the very beginning and even cried real tears for our decision to go into Iraq. It was so wrong - and I was so against it.
So when the election of 2004 came about, there was one Senator John Kerry who shared my misgivings about it. In John, I had hope to maybe somehow correct a very bad course that "my country" had taken. Like so many, I hoped John would win and we could somehow slip out of a mess more gracefully than we could otherwise if George W. Bush and Dick Cheney remained in charge.
As it happened, however, George and team painted John Kerry as a coward for his earlier opposition to the Vietnam War - even though John had served as Lieutenant in the Army in Vietnam and had seen battle - which neither George W. Bush nor Dick Cheney did for avoiding the war in Vietnam when they had a chance to join the battle. After John Kerry served faithfully in the Army - or maybe Navy or Marines - in Vietnam in the late '60s, he had a change of heart and joined a group called Veterans Against The War in Vietnam. It was that opposition to the war that George and Dick used to paint John as a "coward" who "ran from duty" when he had the chance.
But it was not Senator John Kerry who had been a "coward" for refusing to go to war when he believed it was right. It was both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who should have been labeled "cowards" for avoiding a war they both claimed was right in the first place. In my opinion, George W. chose to serve in the National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam; and Dick Cheney chose deferment from the draft by staying in college. As I see it, they simply chose the easy way out while John Kerry chose to participate in a war - not skip participation because deferment was easier; and yet is was not George or Dick who were painted as "cowards" in the election of 2004, but one who served faithfully when he believed it was right - one noble man by the name of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
But each of us must do as we think is right, I guess; and that includes two with whom I have disagreed most heartily in life - George W. Bush and Dick Cheney - though earlier I did vote for George & Dick when I believed them to be on a different course than they turned out to be. In 2000, mistakenly I voted for George & Dick because I believed that George was being authentic when he claimed he was a "born again Christian," but then 9/11/2001 happened and George & Dick proved to be completely different than what I had thought they were.
True "born again Christians" do not go about bombing others when they disagree with those others. Whatever happened to "forgive and be kind to your enemy"? I voted for George & Dick because I thought that George would uphold a Christian principle of "be kind to all." My mistake; but in 2004, I had a chance to correct that mistake and vote for John Kerry to further oppose the direction chosen by George & Dick. I put a lot into the campaign of 2004 because I believed in John Kerry. We lost; but we tried; and that is all that can be expected of any honorable citizen.
Did I lose by standing for losers in the end? No! Like Eugene and I have gone forward and spoken in different ways, John and I have gone forward and have made some difference too. Eugene McCarthy has been dead for awhile now; but John Kerry still goes on; and I go on with John Kerry. That is how commitment to a political person goes; and who knows, if we Democrats cannot settle on Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders in "our" national convention in July in Philadelphia, "Secretary of State," John Kerry - who lost in 2004 - could well be chosen as a "compromise candidate" for the Presidency in 2016. It could happen, couldn't it? Standby for a potential surprise - at long last, a President John Kerry! Suppose?
In the end, as I was telling Nancy this morning, it matters little if one wins if they are for someone or something. It only matters that one does what one can for that someone or something, given coinciding belief in that someone or something. It is the exercise of commitment that matters in the end. I definitely believe that.
This year, Nancy and I are both into listening to the various presidential debates - both Democratic and Republican - though Nancy gets upset when hearing something she doesn't like. On the other hand, I try not to get upset when another offers some advice or comment with which I disagree. I even smile when I find myself in disagreement. Why waste my time ranting about what someone else is saying? It is such a waste of time, I think. Don't you?
But it is not a waste of time to attend a caucus to support one of choice - or attend a primary and vote for one of choice. In August, more than likely, since I am registered as a Democrat, I will choose between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for representing my party in the general election in Nov, but that is a ways off for me. For you in Georgia and Colorado, selection is soon. I encourage you to participate as you can. OK?
Enuf! Enjoy the debates as you can - and don't get too wrapped up in them to allow any of them to upset you. Listen to all, but smile when you disagree. Don't waste away in anger. Just be determined to go your own way in peace - whether others agree or disagree. That is my way - for what it's worth.
Love You All!
Gently,
Dad (Grandpa) & Nancy Shaw