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Last month’s
article by Brooke Johnson about how he became a Democrat made me
ask myself how I became one. Having grown up with two parents who
never once considered voting any way except for Democrats, I basically
inherited my political choice. However, as I grew up, learned history,
began to read newspapers, listen to and later watch news reports,
I realized that I believed in the things the Democrats Party stands
for.
I was in elementary
school in 1936 during the presidential election between Franklin
Roosevelt and Alf Landon of Kansas. There was a lot of talk at that
time among those who opposed Roosevelt that the New Deal cost too
much money. My class conducted a mock election that fall, and I
was the only one in the class who voted for the Roosevelt ticket.
I was made fun of for that vote, and I learned that sometimes political
choices can make us the subject of ridicule and social isolation.
But doing the right thing is not always easy.
I believe the
Democrat Party is the only truly compassionate party. Think of all
the programs that Democratic administrations have passed that have
helped poor and middle-class people have better lives. To name a
few: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, rural electricity, shorter
work week, minimum wage laws, “meals on wheels,” and many
others.
Under Democratic
administrations the gap between the rich and the poor lessens and
the middle class grows, which makes for a healthier nation. At present,
however, the gap between the rich and poor is exploding, and the
middle class is shrinking. I hope we can stop that trend before
we begin to look like South America!
It saddens me
to realize that slick “spin” politicians have succeeded
in taking the name Christian and in making it their own in order
to win votes and to imply that being Democrat is less than Christian.
Everywhere I go – in church, on some errand of kindness, or
just going about my daily activities – I see Democrats who
are dedicated Christians carrying out Christ’s commandments
to care for the poor and downtrodden. Republicans carry out Christ’s
teachings too, but they don’t have a monopoly on them. A bumpersticker
around town says, “God is not a Republican or a Democrat.”
Another thing
that bothers me is how the word “liberal” has been denigrated.
I looked up the word in my Collegiate Webster’s Dictionary
and found it means “generous, bountiful, broad-minded, tolerant,”
and liberalism is defined as “a movement in contemporary Protestantism
emphasizing the spiritual and ethical content of Christianity.”
According to
these definitions, I am proud to be called a liberal. But how hard
some people work to make us ashamed of being generous, bountiful,
broad-minded, and tolerant. I won’t allow them to do that!
I looked up
“conservative” too and found I’m also one of them:
“Protecting, guarding, moderate, cautious, adhering to sound
principles.” I definitely try to be conservative with our environment,
and I try not to be wasteful with our resources and with the use
of money.
One thing I
know: the political parties will change their images and goals depending
on who is exerting leadership from time to time. If I had lived
in Civil War days, Lincoln would have had my vote. (I have voted
for a few Republicans, mostly local people, and I have never regretted
it but once.)
However, I see
the party which ended slavery in our country as becoming less concerned
with the “common people” and more focused on aiding the
rich and the large corporations in getting wealthier. I hope the
Democratic Party never loses its compassion for the ones who struggle.
Eula Mae
Fox is a Watauga native who taught school here for 28 years. She
has been an active volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and many other
groups and recently was part of a Watauga County team that went
to Gulfport, Miss., to help with Katrina relief.
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