The rule of law in our U.S. Constitution is, and must remain, our legal soul. Why would we want to drift away from such a magical 248-year-old document which has made us the envy of the entire world? To my conservative readers I ask, “Why embrace the draconian ideas of Project 2025”? Why don't we just all fight for freedom? Join the freedom wagon, stay the course with moderation and progress! I promise, you will not be sorry!
This is a political opinion memo that I urge all that care for their country and flag to read more than once!
I am 87, a grandfather, a writer by avocation, a retired small business owner, and an Army veteran with two older brothers buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I own three copies of the U.S. Constitution. My political heroes really are our Founding Fathers.
My own political position, in fairness, should be part of this message. This is perhaps the most important election in the history of our 248-year-old U.S. Constitution. I am a moderate progressive, predominantly a Democrat. However, I voted Republican for George Romney and William Milliken for Governors of Michigan. I voted for Ronald Reagan for President his first term. Since then, I have voted for Democrats. My opinion is to always seek out the most truth in either candidate.
But first I want to explain my math equation regarding the weight of a vote. If you belong to the Democratic Party and a member of that party votes Democratic, that is simply one vote. If an independent voter votes for the Democratic Party ,that too is simply one vote. However, if a Republican voter switches to vote Democratic, that really has the impact of two votes. This is truly the year to make that happen and to prevent our Republic from losing its past and its future.
But now allow me to talk about my own personal political events wherein two important people in my life surprised me in how they switched sides.
The first example is my uncle Harry, MD. His practice was in a town outside of Springfield Illinois. He also owned a semi pro baseball team. As a child I was a big fan of the Detroit Tigers. Harry was a Saint Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees fan. I was at a family farm in Michigan with Harry, when I was 12 years old. At breakfast one morning, he said to me, “Have you ever seen Joe DiMaggio play baseball”? When I said “no”, he replied, “Well let's go to the Detroit Tiger Briggs Stadium and we'll see Joe DiMaggio play baseball”! We drove for three hours and only talked baseball the whole time. He introduced me to Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb and all kinds of other players. I learned over the years that Harry was a conservative Republican. We mostly talked about sports whenever we met at family events, but occasionally we talked politics. I never forgot how he treated me in my youth over baseball and the various baseball games he took me to. In 1992 my wife and three boys visited Harry and his wife in Illinois, and I don't know what made me do it, but as we walked in to his house I just yelled out, “Harry tell me you didn't vote Republican this year”! He looked at me and he said, “hell no I voted for your guy Clinton”. Just think, a first at age 76!
My second surprise was from a friend who was a tenant in my office building and a Lawyer who graduated from the University of Michigan. We often commiserated, talked sports, and occasionally we would talk politics. He knew I was a moderate Democrat and of course I knew he was a longtime Republican. He once related to me that he could trace his family back to 1740 in New York where they had settled from England. In the U.S. they remained loyal to King George III during the Revolutionary War. Andy was proud of his heritage.
One day Andy called me into his office. It was the day after Jennifer Granholm won the Michigan Governorship. I sat down and looked at him and he was smiling. He said, “Guess who I voted for yesterday?” I shrugged and he blurted out “Grandholm!” I said, “Be careful Andy, you may break out in hives!”. Anyway, he recently died at age 95 and I will never forget him and the many good discussions he and I had.
These two examples dear reader, I say before God and the angels, actually took place! What is my point? Well nowadays, politics is too damn mean and explosive. We can't carry on mild conversations anymore. It's good against bad, it's hate against love, it's conspiracy theories, hate radio and cable television, threats of retribution, bigotry back to the 1950s, and so forth and so forth.
Plato said, “... democracies pass into despotism”. After 248 years of government under our U.S. Constitution our Founding Fathers must now fade away? Do we want easier answers? Why would an autocratic politician want to question the Administrative State? Is it because he would give himself more power over regulations? I can only defend my own political position. I have freedom. I have liberty! I detest dictators. I detest wannabe authoritarians (I am a Christian: “what you do for the least of my brethren ye do for me”). I believe our Founding Fathers were correct in allowing “no religious test” to hold office in America. Dear reader, there are 40,000 Christian sects in the world. The U.S. has millions of Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, and minor other religions. We leave them all alone to follow the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the U.S. Constitution
Our core values in the United States and our mainstream political opinions are best served when we live and let live, and don't worry about what our neighbors are doing (unless as one pundit said 100 years ago, “they are scaring the horses!”)
The rule of law in our U.S. Constitution is, and must remain, our legal soul. Why would we want to drift away from such a magical 248-year-old document which has made us the envy of the entire world?
Immigrants by the millions want into the United States. The West Coasts of the U.S. and Canada are filling up with Chinese immigrants trying to get into both countries. But some conservatives in America brag about their envy of Viktor Orban and Vladimir Putin. Is this laughable? Yep. Viktor Orban has inflicted deep cuts in both the free press and the courts in Hungary. We also have political Russian dissidents murdered, or in Siberia in political concentration camps. It is so bad in Russia that Finland has had to close their borders from Russians trying to leave Russia into Finland. How many MAGA Republicans who support Hungary and Russia are willing to leave the U.S.? Dear reader, something is not adding up here. It seems our country is running quite well if you're objective and look at the facts and data.
We must continue to choose freedom. Let's not abandon our U.S. Constitution or the rule of law. Why toss out our wonderful history? Sure, it is frayed a little, but it is always trying to get better.
We need to question those who pour gasoline on their own country. Bigotry is dumb and goofy and costs too much money. The “Big Lie” will always be, just that. Look up the 62 court cases that made it remain simply a big lie, despite political loud rhetoric by too many Republican politicians to the contrary.
To my conservative readers I ask, “Why embrace the draconian ideas of Project 2025”? Why don't we just all fight for freedom? Join the freedom wagon, stay the course with moderation and progress! I promise, you will not be sorry!
Let's all pray for liberty and that a just God will keep our children and grandchildren free from mayhem and chaos.
Finally dear voter, please do the math, and vote for the USA and truth!
Opening Image: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio
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