heimdalco

I sat down on the unmade bed, intent on the television in the bedroom. It was tuned to a news station more for company than content.  I stopped putting away clean laundry and obviously put aside making the bed when I sat down on it … leaning back against the mountain of pillows and eventually pulling up the covers. I was also postponing breakfast, but even that was forgotten as I watched a tribute in our nation’s Capitol to the late Bob Dole.

Mr. Dole was a politician, a war hero, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency and vice presidential position, a republican, devoted husband and father … and an example of a good and decent man who put country ahead of party, was able to work with both republicans and democrats for the common good, and remained devoted to the people he represented in Kansas during his years in the Senate. He had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years.

It seems Mr. Dole had been around my entire adult life and the memorial service in his honor … he died recently at age 98 … was riveting for all those reasons, including tweaking my memory of my own political history.

Until the past five years I really had NO political history to speak of. I have always voted in presidential elections, not only because it was my right, but I also have felt it was my responsibility. Unlike my mother who remained a staunch democrat and a Baptist until the day of her death … refusing to vote republican and refusing to vote at all if the democratic candidate was not of her liking, I have had no real political affiliation. I’ve voted all over the place … for the candidate I felt best reflected my hopes for our country and never the party. My way of doing things confused my mother just as her way confounded me. And while she remained a Baptist until the end, she mostly went to the same Methodist church for the last several decades of her life. I may not have always understood her logic, nor she mine, but I loved her more than I can put into words.

While the presidential candidates of my choice have not always been winners , I never felt apprehensive about the winner because, in the days since I was legally able to vote, I felt secure in the fact that even if my candidate did not win the election, our country was still in capable hands. The politicians of the day … both democrats and republicans … held the good of our country first and foremost  … ahead of party and personal gain. It’s just the way it was … mostly good people running for the highest office because they felt they could make a difference and make the wonder that was our country, even with its shortcomings, a better place. Things have changed recently and I fear that reassurance and security have been lost as surely as Mr. Dole may sadly have been the last of a dying breed.

Especially with the division in this country, the televised service for Mr. Dole in the Capitol rotunda, so recently seen being ravaged and damaged by the events of January 6, witnessed members from both parties coming together, no matter how briefly, to pay tribute to a special hero, patriot and politician out of respect if for no other reason.

My wish is that the events of this morning’s memorial and the temporary joining of hands, and possibly hearts across the aisle might have sparked something that seems lost. My wish is that the moment of joining together for a common purpose may possibly have held some flicker of comradery and the common goal of love for our country ahead of party deep down in the hearts of those attending.

The bed is made, the laundry put away and I treated myself to a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, orange juice, diced peaches and a moment of thought and contemplation while sitting at the table in the sunroom enjoying the pleasant company of our cat.

My politics haven’t changed.  I’m still fact checking things for truth and wisdom, picking candidates with morals, honesty, decency, dedication  and  the genuine goal of seeing to it that our country meets the challenges of our times in the most productive way, inclusive for all.

Rest in peace, Mr. Dole. May your legacy be an inspiration to politicians and people everywhere. You were an example of the ability to agree and disagree  with civility and aplomb and still maintain the vision of a better world for us all.

Tags: Bob Dole, recent politics, the privilege of voting