I grew up a Republican. My parents were dyed- in- the- wool Republicans. They voted for Dewey over Truman. My Mother wrote the campaign song ("Get Out And Fight for Ike)" for Dwight Eisenhower in his 1952 Election.
Over time I have probably voted for as many Republican as Democratic Senators and Governors from my State of Ohio. I voted with enthusiasm for George H.W, Bush in his two Presidential campaigns and his son, George W. Bush in 2000.
George H.W. Bush, especially, was and will forever remain a personal hero of mine. I admired most of his policies. I admired how he worked with Gorbachev to help the peaceful transition of the Soviet Union.
However, above all I admired President Bush's courage, his fundamental decency, his character, and his care for his fellow man.
These are the qualities we seek in all our leaders, above all the President of the United States.
Sadly, worryingly, we do not find them in President Trump.
When will, I ask, responsible Republicans return to the principles that marked the Republicans I respected? When will they stop standing aside to let the meanness and cruelty and lying and rumor mongering of Donal Trump go unchallenged? When will they again insist that their candidates, especially for the Presidency, embody the highest values of our nation. starting with integrity and respecting the dignity of everyone.
Hearken to these words of then President Eisenhower: "The Republican Party must be known as a progressive organization or it is sunk. I believe that so emphatically that I think far from appeasing or reasoning with the dyed-in-the-wool reactionary fringe, we should completely ignore it and when necessary repudiate it."
I agree completely; I call myself an anti-Trump conservative.
ReplyDeleteI'm equally as disappointed with the Dems, whom I used to consider as proponents of the Four Freedoms. However, I think the repression of conservative speech on too many campuses and the failure of the Dems to speak up shows their abandonment of Freedom of Speech. And as for Freedom of Worship, the Dems have become the "Freedom FROM Religion" party.
Both parties have strayed from a more moderate center; neither party will work with the other for fear that it will look like "caving in", and thus all sensibility in governing is lost.
These are disappointing times.
Oh, please! How much time have you spent on campuses? I'm on one of the largest in the country daily and have yet to see conservative speech repressed. And there are also plenty of religious, empathetic, caring and spiritual Democrats. Divisive words like these are part of our country's problems...
DeleteThank you for coming out and saying what so many of us wish that more Republicans would say!
ReplyDeleteDear John.
ReplyDeleteNot being American myself i understand my voice has not got the same value in internal US political affairs. But as citizen of the world I am still sad to see the higher moral ground your nation was built upon fade away with the American people acquiescence. You have mistakes in your past. But the American people have always faced the ruth and do their best to right every wrong. not anymore. It is sad times indeed. It is only when fair and honest people like yourself speak up that i recover some hope that maybe not all is lost. Thanks for speaking up
The Words Matter.
ReplyDeleteI am a Democrat but I have supported certain policies that Republicans used to have, including free-trade, Western alliances, and being a moral leader in the world. In addition, despite disagreeing with George W. Bush's vast majority of policies, I always gave him credit for uniting us after 9/11, pushing financial aid to AIDS ravaged African countries (despite the furious opposition from several members of his party), his support of rural medical clinics, and going to the mat on immigration reform which he lost because both parties stifled him.
ReplyDeleteWhere has that Republican Party gone? It probably is still alive somewhere under the smoldering fires of the cruelty and meanness of this administration.
Thank you, John. In moments of deepest despair, there seems to be so little that one person can do. But you disprove that fear.
ReplyDeleteWe can express the reasons for our concern in calm and rational ways.
And we can be kind to each other. My favorite memory of you at P&G comes from a dinner at which you were seated next to a soft-spoken, shy (or maybe just intimidated) African American junior manager. Despite the best efforts of other aggressively ambitious young managers competing for your attention, you focused solely on your conversation with her. I can still picture you leaning in to hear her. That lesson in character and leadership endures (and endears).
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your concerns, John. The country needs to hear from more current and formal leaders that the quality of the character in our President matters intensely.
ReplyDeleteI hope when we choose the next President in 2020, we will find a leader who can restore character and bring a new focus to uniting the country behind bi-partisan approaches to addressing key problems.