A Higher Ground
It is the time of the year when we, as adults, reflect on previous times of returning to school and seeing our friends. It was a memorable time, growing up in the 1950s and finishing school in the early 1960s. America was on a threshold of great accomplishments and the election of a young President JFK elevated our spirits. I was fortunate to live in an ideal “Mayberry” setting and attend the same schools with the same classmates for 12 years. We all shared common Values within our community, as our Fathers were Veterans and instilled into us what was right and wrong, based on “God’s Law governs Nations as well as men.” It was clear the Ten Commandments should not only be enshrined in our courthouses, it should be engraved in our hearts and minds as guides to all behavior, public and private.
In the early 1960s, our government sought to fight “socialism” and establish free elections in Southeast Asia. Some of my friends were drafted and others volunteered to go fight this evil force. As WWII children, we embraced our new role in creating free elections on foreign soil, just as the young soldiers today embrace establishing free elections in Iraq and Afghanistan. We fought and died for others to have free elections. We witnessed first-hand voter intimidation, when the Viet Cong would slip into villages and kill the Village Chief’s family, so the hamlet would not come out to vote. The faces of my classmates who died establishing this right to free elections will be etched in my mind forever, as the other 58,000 plus deaths in Vietnam and the casualties of current wars will be embedded in their loved ones’ minds.
The recent political primaries have left many pondering the proper behavior of candidates in their quest for power. We have witnessed first-hand the negative campaigns that attack candidates’ character, and seek to give rivals the edge to win an election, to go forth and make laws that affect all citizens. Some say this is “just politics” or “dirty politics” and campaigns should not be held accountable for such distortions. Others cry out this is not acceptable public behavior and impact the voter turn-out. This debate will continue, as it has been proven “negative ads” work for the individual, but not for the community.
Why is this important and why does this negative campaigning have to stop? First, let’s all remember those early childhood friends and the relationships we forged. Young soldiers died for free elections. They did not die to have current candidates who profess to be Christians, go against God’s Laws of bearing false witness against others, to advance their personal goals for money and fame. President Kennedy called upon us, a young people, to ask what we can do for our country. He understood the sacrifices of war and why we had fought so many battles. We have forgotten, as a nation, our original founding principles. Candidates have lost their moral compass, allowing paid political hacks to undermine the very freedom we have fought so hard to maintain. This non-congruence of Values has to cease if our Nation is to prosper.
Author Terence P. Jeffrey summarized it quite well. “America is more than just an expanse of territory or a set of laws. It is a culture, whose art, architecture, journalism, music, movies, television, schools and universities, should reflect and reinforce the traditional values that made this country great. We owe this to our children, who will build the America of tomorrow on the foundation of the America we teach them to love today.” More importantly, we owe it to our Veterans and their families, who made the ultimate sacrifices to conduct honorable and free elections.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=11025
