 |
| I like this old Goldwater for President t-shirt because it actually requires a bit of thought and some basic knowledge of chemical symbols. |
In elementary school I supported Goldwater. Again, this wasn't because of any depth of feelings for the candidates or the issues. No, I supported Goldwater because a local campaign pin for him was super cool with flecks of "gold" floating in a bubble of liquid. I'm pretty sure the "gold" was pyrite, aka fools gold, but it looked pretty cool. Although I still own a lot of miscellaneous stuff from that era of my life, that campaign button seems to have been lost to the sands of time.
 |
| This McGovern & Shriver political poster is totally indicative of the times. This was Vietnam, this was Kent State, riots, burning buildings and helicopters being shot down. This was the era of the dinnertime war and it had a tremendous impact on us. |
My next foray into political waters was working for George McGovern and Sargent Shriver's campaign while in high school. I was an activist in high school, like many of my generation. We were too young to vote, but truly despised Nixon. Unfortunately, Nixon won in a landslide and Shriver retreated back into the curtains of history, known more as a Kennedy relative than a presidential mover and shaker.
 |
| On August 4th, 1974, Nixon resigned the office of the President. Gerald Ford, his vice president, stepped into the office and as his first act, pardoned Nixon. |
In college I worked on multiple archaeological sites during my summers. (I am a trained archaeologist, having achieved a master's degree in the field, but the point in time I'm thinking about was during my basic college days.) At this particular time I was on a field school in the middle of the desert of New Mexico and the radio in the cook tent was interrupted with Nixon's resignation speech while I was helping to wash the dishes after the evening meal. The entire camp listened quietly and then burst out in unanimous cheers at Nixon's resignation decision. Finally, what I had wanted two years earlier had come true and "Tricky Dickey" would be out of office.
 |
| I voted for Anderson in the campaign of 1980. I liked his ideas and wasn't fond of either candidate put forth by the major parties. It was a good vote - I think he would have made a fine President. |
Over intervening decades I stayed local - voting in every election of course, but focusing more on who would actually impact my life directly instead of from Washington DC. I had my candidates, usually voting Democratic, but sometimes voting outside of standard political parties and once - and only once - actually voting Republican! I know - a shock to me too.
 |
| Our campaign commercials for the midterm elections are vicious and rather vindictive. I can't imagine why anyone would want to run for public office these days. |
Why this long post about political interest? Because I'm really bored with politics now. It seems every day it's a new crisis, a new speech, a new decision that will destroy a new group of people. It seems that all many of my Facebook friends can talk about is politics - the current, the future, and sometimes the past (guilty as charged, at least in this blog post). We have the midterm elections coming up in November. I want them here and gone already, because the commercials are angry and vindictive, not just throwing mud but cascading mud from earth-moving machinery. Politics right now sucks, and it's never-ending. When one campaign ends, the next ones begin. I've had enough, time to get on with real life instead of slinging mud.
We're picking up the truck tonight. It's going to be a rainy day, so I guess we'd better figure out the wiper controls, lights, and also how to put gas into it. We don't have a bed cover yet, but did opt for the bed mat. We'll get a cover ordered soon. Have a truly fabulous Tuesday. I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with something more interesting than politics. LOL
No comments:
Post a Comment