Thomasville Times

Only way things will get better is for all of us to do our part



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It is Election Day in Alabama. Thinking of it, makes me pause and wonder where we are headed as a state and as a nation. I wonder if it is a coincidence that I just happened to pick up a book about politics yesterday on the 25-cent rack out in front of the library when I went to return the books I checked out. The book is “My Brother Lyndon” by Sam Houston Johnson, LBJ’s younger brother. I was drawn to it for some reason so I decided to get it instead of checking something else out from the library. It was published in 1969. It is full of anecdotal history of that era. I love a good story and anecdotes are the best kind of stories. They tell the stories of what the people living the stories were like.

LBJ was not one of our most beloved presidents. In fact, he along with Harry Truman, are vastly underrated. They had to make some really tough decisions that are still affecting our lives today. Truman had to make the call to drop the atomic bomb to end WWII. Johnson passed the Civil Right Bill which made all the difference in giving equal rights to all citizens. Neither of them was a soft and fuzzy personality.

Book about LBJ

This book written by LBJ’s little brother is naturally biased, but surprisingly truthful in giving us a look at who his brother really was as a person. Johnson did not come across well on television. He appeared stiff in his delivery as he read his speeches off the teleprompter. He was used to small groups and folksy ways, not staring at a screen and trying to reach people that way. The way he got things done and bills passed was through communicating with people one on one. If somebody was opposed to something he was advocating, he would call them up and praise them for something they did or said, then get around to wanting their support. Since he apparently thought so highly of them, they felt valued and were more likely to cooperate.

Value other people

I think valuing other people is one thing that is missing in politics today. We are so busy fighting each other that we don’t try to get along politically. I have done my best to avoid watching this season’s political ads. The ones I did see were not only an embarrassment to the people of Alabama, but to the politicians themselves. The politicians should have fired the people who were developing their political ads quickly instead of letting themselves being roped into saying inane things that they ended up saying in front of the television cameras. The things they say about each other are so bad that I feel sorry for the opponents and for the person saying those things if they really believe them. It is a sad day in Alabama politics when we have come to this.

Tomorrow it will all be over. We will know who the winners of the primaries are. It won’t solve anything, but at least the hateful ads will be lessened for a few months until things heat up for the general election in November. I rarely watch television unless it is something I record for later so I can flip through the ads, political and otherwise. I am sure there ae a lot of other viewers doing that, too. The popularity of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services have made it more of a challenge to reach voters. Those of us who still have satellite or cable television also have the option of recording the programs and skipping the ads.

Who can believe all those things the candidates are saying about each other and what they will do if they are elected? Some of the things they say they will do are pretty scary. Maybe it’s a good thing we know not to believe much they tell us about others or themselves. Maybe it’s also a good thing that once they get into the legislature that they spend so much time posturing about things that are so small that they don’t end up getting too much done except the spending of taxpayer’s money to travel and serve on committees that pay them extra. I bet most voters don’t know that the elected officials get extra money for all kinds of things that are not published as part of their pay. They keep finding new ways to take the taxpayers’ money and not tell them about it.

Public Officials

There are some responsible public officials who are very careful with taxpayers’ money. Senator Howell Heflin was one. When he would come to Mobile, he would always stay at the Red Roof Inn because it was the cheapest. This was told to me by his Mobile office. They said he would raise Cain if they had to get him a more expensive place for some reason…and get this… he wouldn’t even pay extra for a king-sized bed even though he was a king-sized person! Of course, Heflin is dead and the tradition of thrift with the government’s money may have died with him.

Speaking of Heflin, one of my favorite stories about him was the time that he came to speak at the courthouse in Grove Hill. After the speech, some of us were invited to a Dutch treat luncheon in a private room at one of the restaurants. Heflin would have never bought lunch for people because that might have been construed as buying votes. I am sure there are not people who can be bought for the price of a few French fries, but Heflin did not take any chances. We were all sitting there around a horseshoe-shaped table making conversation when Heflin said “I saw Reverend So and So at the courthouse this morning. He used to preach up in my neck of the woods (in Northeast Alabama). Was he on the jury”? The Sheriff spoke up and said “No sir. He was on the docket”. Everybody changed the subject and kept on eating their French fries.

Dirty tricks and name calling

Elections are interesting seasons. When I read some of the shenanigans that were pulled in elections back in the 1960s elections, I can see that nothing much has changed. In fact, going back to the beginning of our republic, there have always been dirty tricks played and name calling. At least today, we are more restrained about having duels and shooting each other with real bullets instead of just the verbal salvos were use today. My all-time favorite was the one about the presidential candidate who was rumored to have an illegitimate child. The political slogan that was used against him was “Ma, Ma where is Pa? Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha!” That is a catchy little ditty that I remember from a race over a hundred years ago.

There is a good Alabama song that was aimed at one of our Alabama governors who was involved in a similar situation. I had two friends who when we were sitting around socializing would trot the song out after a beer or two. It started out “she was poor but she was honest…” they end with “now she walks the streets of Cullman…”. I can’t remember the whole song and the one who knew it best is now singing in the Celestial Choir, so I can’t ask him. I bet it’s out there on You Tube somewhere and I could find it, but somethings are best forgotten.

Shorty Price

Speaking of forgotten, who remembers Shorty Price, the would-be candidate for Governor who ran and never won for many cycles? Who remembers Charles Woods another would be gubernatorial candidate who had been hideously injured and burned as a pilot in WWII? There have been many wannabes who have slipped into the pages of history. Some of those running today will not be remembered past today’s defeat. Whoever does win will get a chance to make a difference if they will, but things change slowly here in Alabama. Some of the issues from the 1960s still have not been laid to rest. Will they ever be? Only time will tell.

Treat all as equals

We still have prejudice against anybody who is not just like us. We still have politicians who will try to milk the system. We still have polarized points of view on issues and try to demonize those who think differently from us. Will it get better? We can only hope and do what we can to make a difference, one relationship at a time.

What it all boils down to is the only way things will get better in our society, is for us to do our part individually and collectively to treat all men as equals and with dignity. That sounds pretty lofty but we can do our part in the small things. We can greet each other with a smile when we meet in the grocery store. We can hold a door open for someone who is struggling to get in. We can let a car in which is attempting to switch lanes when one lane runs out. These don’t seem like much but they can improve somebody’s attitude or brighten their day…and just for today, we can get out and vote.

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