Honorable andTrue

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

Honorable and True

Who knows how we develop our ideas, our principles and make our commitments. 

Nature?

Nurture?

We are born into families, groups of people with strong beliefs and prejudices. Who among us can deny we pick up on what we see as we grow? Then we are off school where we are influenced by a larger group that includes contemporaries, teachers, and administrators.

Some of us go on and gather more education, others go into the workforce, but in every instance we are exposed to larger groups who influence our views. Sometimes we adopt the views of those we admire most. Other times we actually begin to form our own view of things.

I am never more reminded of these truths than during our presidential elections when tempers and opinions run high. Friends often find their friendship tested in the fiery ways as the interpret the difference they see in the candidates, the party, or the platforms.

I worked with an administrator at an educational institution who was also a psychologist, and I remember her saying if you haven’t resolved your personal issues by midlife, they would likely ever be resolved.

I have thought of that often because I know she did not mean it in the sense that we can not change or alter our beliefs when confronted with evidence that we are wrong. I choose to believe she meant that we should know ourselves as adults, be true to ourselves, and be able to ably defend how we think about the issues at hand, while still being open to discussion that would take us in a different direction.

If we put being honorable and true to ourselves and our beliefs in a sacred place in our  lives, if are willing to entertain new thoughts but not so readily give up the thoughts formed in our lives through so many experiences, and if we can keep from being cynical, argumentative, even hateful, then we can live with our decisions and appreciate that they are not subject to blowing in the wind with every new rumor or attack of slander.

Also I know that the personality of a candidate can outweigh the programs he or she promises. How often in your lifetime have you seen the winning candidate hold to the platform on which he ran. When does he/she gets the grade card that says essentially “You promised this, but you failed to deliver.”

Well that “report card should be delivered at the ballot box. Did the party in power do what they said they would or did they fail? Do you accept their excuses for their failure? Or do you think it is time to congratulate them on their performance. Perhaps you think it is time for new leadership.

Be honorable and true to what you know to be your core beliefs, and the Ship of State will remain strong. Vote not on what you are being told in the next few months but vote on what you know to be true about actual performance and results for the last four years.

LUCY

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

LUCY

One of the nice things about being a columnist is you can write about almost anything. Over the years I have had to write some sad columns, ones that were cathartic for me. This is one of those. If you are in love with your pets or easily moved to tears, you might want to simply not read this one.

For many years my wife and I have had two labrador retrievers in our household. She was never happy about having two, but I became insistent because our jobs took us out of the house for long periods each day, and I felt my one lab just wasn’t having a very good life, being lonely for most of the time.

So we started having two.

When one would pass, I would be out looking for another. After time my wife said we should not get a second lab. I kept secretly looking. She said she didn't want to have to train a puppy and go through all that stuff again. I kept secretly looking. Our breeders had been predominately from Ohio, so I was in touch with them for suggestions.

One day I received a note saying that the breeder had taken a “pick of litter” expecting the dog to be a show dog but she did not grow to the requirements of length and height. She was eight months old and house trained.

We had always had black male labradors. This was a yellow female. One night at dinner I was telling our fellow diners about a fabulous, trained labrador I had learned about in my search for a puppy and said if any of them were interested, I would give them contact information. 

That was when I got kicked under the table.

Later my wife asked me why I would be offering a lovable, already trained, beautiful labrador to other people.

Victory!

Lucy, originally called “Snowy” by the breeder because of her lovely light yellow coat arrived by plane at a local airport. I picked her up. She had been bathed and fluffed, and when we opened the door at our home, it was love at first sight for my wife and Lucy.

She was a lovely pet. She was playful. She tolerated the cats. She loved to ride in the car. And she was better than ADT at letting us know someone was on the property or at the door.

There was a big difference in my life with this labrador. All the others were with me short periods of time when I was home and not at work. While Lucy lived with us, I was retired and my wife was still working. So every day, 24-7 we were together. She followed me around the house. She ate any leftovers I had on my plate. She went everywhere with me in the car, even if just a short trip to the grocery. She was my companion.

She had been having some trouble with the ligaments in her right hind leg, and she favored that leg, still getting around on the other three. On the last day of her life she sat at my chair watching me eat eggs Benedict, with that soulful look on her face that said “save some for me.” So she got half an order of eggs Benedict and was very grateful. She followed me around that morning. She lay  in front of the fireplace while I read. After lunch I suggest we go outside, and as we walked around the property, she attempted to jump over a low stone fence. Her bad leg did not support her, and her other leg gave way. She landed on the paved driveway, yelping and rolling around on her side. I didn’t know what to do. Someone came along and helped lift her into my SUV. I called the Vet and explained the situation, saying I thought she might have broken her leg.

After the Vet X-rayed her, I was told the situation was not good. The first leg problem was worse. In addition, a new problem had now developed with leg number two. Nothing was broken, but the X-ray showed a large lump of cancer in the spine.

I telephoned my wife who came immediately to the Vet to say her goodbyes. Lots of tears and memories. And then she was gone.

From eggs Benedict at breakfast to being gone in a matter of hours. Eleven years of joy and love, gone in an instant.

I know dogs aren’t humans. They have a short shelf life. But when they pass, it reminds us of our own immortality. The crate is dismantled and packed away. The toys all over the house are picked up and stored. The collars are boxed. And the favorite toy is being laundered by my wife and will remain with us as a memory of our life with Lucy.

We have had to put a lot of dogs down in our 47 years of married life. People think it must get easier. My wife knows that not to be the case. She says every time we have to put one down, all the memories of the others are stirred up.

I expect to see Lucy every time I open the door. I am distraught when I look at the empty space where her crate was kept. I miss her on my lonely car trips. 

But I am ever so happy that she enjoyed eggs Benedict on her last day.

TRUMP CLINTON

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

ON TO THE RACES

I promised in an earlier column not to write about politics until I watched both conventions. So this will be my assessment today.

In few presidential election years have I seen such horrible statements, speeches and columns. Supporters of Sanders, Clinton and Trump are hot and angry and determined.

It has turned out that it will be Clinton vs Trump with Sanders endorsing Clinton, much to the anger of some of his supporters. I watch the polls on Real Politics and I find they are usually reliable. They show today a very close race.

That being said, I think the polls will be useless in this election. Probably a majority of people do not like either candidate. But they are smart enough to realize that voting for a third party candidate or not voting at all simply helps the candidate you like least. Our duty is to choose the best of the two major party candidates.

The reason I think polling will be misleading is that I know so many people who say they will vote for Trump but will not say so publicly. So when they go behind that curtain and cast their vote it is my view that a significant number of those who say they are uncommitted or will vote for Clinton will actually vote for Trump.

As I have said in previous columns it is not an endorsement of Trump. Anyone who took Trump’s position that our nation has been led for many years by the wrong kind of people, would have been popular. The majority of people do not think the nation is headed in the right direction.

This is a positive for Trump and spells trouble for Clinton.

Clinton may yet win not because people think she is appropriate but because trump is a roll of the dice. We know what we get with Clinton. We have watched her for decades, since she was the wife of the Governor of Arkansas. We do not know what we will get with Trump. I do not side with those who think he would be a disaster as I have know idea how his business successes and his ability to see the major issue before Americans today, unhappiness with business as usual, will affect the way he would lead the Republic.

OFF TO THE RACES

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

ON TO THE RACES

I promised in an earlier column not to write about politics until I watched both conventions. So this will be my assessment today.

In few presidential election years have I seen such horrible statements, speeches and columns. Supporters of Sanders, Clinton and Trump are hot and angry and determined.

It has turned out that it will be Clinton vs Trump with Sanders endorsing Clinton, much to the anger of some of his supporters. I watch the polls on Real Politics and I find they are usually reliable. They show today a very close race.

That being said, I think the polls will be useless in this election. Probably a majority of people do not like either candidate. But they are smart enough to realize that voting for a third party candidate or not voting at all simply helps the candidate you like least. Our duty is to choose the best of the two major party candidates.

The reason I think polling will be misleading is that I know so many people who say they will vote for Trump but will not say so publicly. So when they go behind that curtain and cast their vote it is my view that a significant number of those who say they are uncommitted or will vote for Clinton will actually vote for Trump.

As I have said in previous columns it is not an endorsement of Trump. Anyone who took Trump’s position that our nation has been led for many years by the wrong kind of people, would have been popular. The majority of people do not think the nation is headed in the right direction.

This is a positive for Trump and spells trouble for Clinton.

Clinton may yet win not because people think she is appropriate but because trump is a roll of the dice. We know what we get with Clinton. We have watched her for decades, since she was the wife of the Governor of Arkansas. We do not know what we will get with Trump. I do not side with those who think he would be a disaster as I have know idea how his business successes and his ability to see the major issue before Americans today, unhappiness with business as usual, will affect the way he would lead the Republic.

KILLING FIELDS

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

KILLING FIELDS

Almost every day I awake to learn of new carnage somewhere in the world. Sixty four dead here, 5 dead there,beheading a priest, attacking a Mass, hundreds wounded, people being more cautious in their travels, our government telling our citizens abroad to shelter in place because going outside could make them targets.

These stories get huge play on social media, in the printed news and on television.

I try to remind myself that in the overall course of events these tragedies are small, they do not compare to the dead counts when we are actually at war with another country. Somehow it is a matter of the expected and the unexpected.

Every life counts and when I read of the loss of even one my heart breaks.

But I do not believe we have a credible solution to ending these kinds of killings. We don’t know where these enemies are. We don’t know which of the various radical groups has gotten to them, invaded their brains, and sent them out as mercenary killers. More importantly, we don’t know which of the mentally ill Americans are being radicalized simply by reading and watching.

Until we do find a way to track terrorists  and put them down this is going to continue unabated. I suggest that some of our own Judaeo Christian heritage prevents us from making the hard decision to meet them with the same kind of indifference to life that they demonstrate. And readers, our enemies count on our thinking that way. Our morals, beliefs and traditions are their most effective weapons.

Bottom line: their religion celebrates murder. Our religion condemns it.

When they kill they are going to paradise. 

When we kill we are going to hell.

If we are to survive these wounds, these multiple knife wounds and bullet deaths it will require some revisiting of our own thinking. Do we have a duty to keep killers from killing and, if so, does that mean our killing is noble. Or is the killing, no matter the reason, simply unacceptable.

To those who find killing unacceptable under any circumstances, it is incumbent on you to put forth a different path for ending this horrible course of action taken by sworn enemies of ours.

For those of you who would consider the killing of the killers of innocents to be appropriate, it is incumbent on you to select people to run our government who have the strength and commitment to carry out policies of identify, discover and eliminate.

Not easy decisions morally or religiously or politically.

But the head in the sand approach isn’t going to work.

SPIN IT

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

SPIN IT

Someone finishes first in the Iowa caucuses but not really because she didn't have a whole lot more votes than the guy who finished second so you see he really was first.

The second placer then claims he was the victim of shenanigans on the part of the first placer and therefore he really won.

Not to be outdone, the third place finisher claims he really won because he came from the farthest behind and surprised everyone,

Another guy announced BEFORE the caucuses was over he was headed out of town and wasn’t going with everyone else to New Hampshire to campaign for the next primary nor was he going to South Carolina, where the third event would take place. You see he had to go to Florida to pick up some clean clothes.

Well the press jumped on that as an obvious “I am considering leaving the race.” But then a second press announcement comes out reminding everyone he isn’t quitting just getting a change of underwear. This came as a great surprise to storeowners in New Hampshire who see mens’ clothing.

Along comes New Hampshire where there is a big fight over whether Governors make better presidents than Senators. That seemed to take up a lot of time for discussion, the bottom line of which suggests that Governors have a lot more experience than Senators. Then New Hampshire elected a sitting Senator by an overwhelming margin. The other winner wasn't a Senator or a Governor-EVER.

New Hampshire is so sophisticated that they believe if you are a candidate with a border that touches there your are the overwhelming better qualified.

So now this traveling circus is off to South Carolina for the next primary. Of course the pundits are making all sorts of predictions about how people from the South will have a great advantage over those from the north. I have lived in the South and I can tell you that most Southerners think the Civil War, whoops, War of Northern Aggression, is still being fought.

I am going to close with the observation that the political process of the Greatest Nation on Earth leaves a lot to be desired.

Shouldn’t we just be looking for the candidate whose philosophy and stated opinions demonstrate clearly a superiority over the others running?

‘

I do think it only fair though that we let a guy have a few days to change his underwear, don’t you?

IOWA'S OVERSTATED IMPORTANCE

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

IOWA’s OVERSTATED IMPORTANCE

I am sure you remember fondly President Santorum.

Equally fondly President Huckabee.

Iowans are fickle. Both Huckabee and Santorum barely eked out a point this year. So all those Iowans who thought they should be president in previous caucus years evidently thought better of it this year. They both scored in the bottom of the pack.

NH isn’t going to be a bell weather either. Native son from Vermont has a seemingly insurmountable lead. It is going to be boring for the DEMS and only slightly interesting for the GOP as the votes will probably mimic the Iowa finishes.

South Carolina is where the primaries will really begin to make a difference in the fortunes of those remaining candidates.

The real story of Iowa was that the peoples’ anger became countable. The outsiders in the parties scored mighty well. The era of establishment politics may well be over. Turnout also demonstrates a renewed voter interest. Many Iowans have been rather disinterested over the past caucuses.

Cruz, Trump, and Rubio are now in it for the long haul. Governor Katich has momentum with the endorsements of The New York Times and the Boston Globe, which should cause him to stay in the race and also bring some new money into his campaign. Those endorsements should also propel voters to take a look at his outstanding record in Washington, D.C., and Ohio. Up to now, he has been relatively unknown outside of Ohio. The papers suggest we should take another look.  

Jeb Bush may stay in because he has the money to do so and is hopeful of a better finish in the South. The best argument against Jeb is he is not seen as a non-establishment candidate and he is being soundly beaten, over and over again by the other Floridian in the race.

All of the others should abandon their campaigns. There is no evidence any one of them can win the nomination, so why continue to spend their supporters' donations in a lost cause. 

Clear the field, folks. Read the tea leaves. Many of the candidates are good people, and there will be important spots for them in the government after the election. And the president will be lucky to have their counsel.

I felt sorry for only one candidate in Iowa: Martin O’Malley. He is a very good man who never got traction. Up against the Clinton machine and the Sanders revolution, he got almost no attention. This is one man who is much better than his vote totals would suggest.

Polling in Iowa has almost always been off. Some years it has been way off. I have a cousin who lives in Iowa, and I asked him about this. He said he got as many as three calls a day asking who he would vote for. He also said most Iowans just gave out different names with each call. 

Call in the morning and ask, and he would say Trump. Call in the afternoon, and he would say Cruz. Call in the evening, and he would say Rubio. He suggested to me that Iowans long ago realized they could have some fun with all this.

Off to New Hampshire.

THE SUPREMES (AGAIN)

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

THE SUPREMES

(AGAIN)

The nine members of The United States Supreme court had bookends.

The most intelligent and wise member on the conservative side was Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. His counterpart, the most intelligent and wise member on the liberal side is Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginzburg.

Scalia passed away at a very bad time, right in the heat of a battle for the presidency. For years Bader-Ginzburg has been expected to step down due to various medical problems, including cancer. So it is reasonable to anticipate she will not have many more years on the court.

Bottom line: soon both the best Justices, in my view, will no longer be hearing cases, mentoring clerks, and writing opinions that will be read in law schools forever.

It is understandable that the Democrats would love to get to replace Scalia. They might not get a liberal but they could ensure his predictable conservative vote would be replaced with some sort of moderate that a Democrat president could nominate and convince a Republican senate to confirm.

It is equally understandable that the Republicans would like to replace Justice Scalia with someone just like him.

The Republicans say they will not consider a nominee sent to them by the sitting President. I personally find that unconstitutional. His term has as president has not ended just because they wish it had. Now has their responsibility to vet any nominee he might send to them.

The Judiciary Committee has a majority of Republicans so it is entirely possible they will choose not to confirm anyone this President sends to them. But it is his duty to nominate someone because he is the President and the Constitution so states. 

It is their(the Judiciary Committee of the Senate) duty to question and consider the candidate sent to them. They have absolutely no clear way out of this obligation.

But that is where the Constitution stops and politics enters. 

The GOP controlled Judiciary Committee can, for whatever reasons they choose, fail to confirm the President’s nominee. So if the GOP wants to hold the seat open, that is the Constitutional way to do so.

And the people need to remember that if the Democrats hold The White House in the election this will all work out in a manner favourable to liberals. If the Democrats retake the Senate and a Republican is in The White House, it will all work out. Because only a compromise candidate will garner enough votes and that means someone considerably less conservative than Associate Justice Scalia.

So all the current sturm und drang means very little. 

It will be a major issue in the coming campaign with Democrats and Republicans emphasizing the importance of the appointee a new president will pick. They will tell us of all sorts of things that could be changed or never considered. They will try to scare us. They will remind us of how quickly what each considers progress can be revised.

Take a moment to look at the ages of all the judges. 

Whomever is president it is highly likely there will be one or two additional replacements required over the four years of the next  presidential term.  Look at how many sitting Justices were born in the 1930s!  So while I would like to see another Scalia, and had it been Bader-Ginzburg who died, I would like to see another like her, which means politics is not as important to  the court as a good mind, the ability to discern the meaning of the Constitution, and the talent to write understandable opinions that will hold through history.

Considering the number of previous Justices appointed because they were liberal, and others because they were conservative, only to take seriously their responsibilities to listen to the arguments of their colleagues and in light of their lifetime appointment make their own judgments which often were in conflict with what the president who appointed them might wish, I would suggest we just look for a smart, articulate example of the best America has to offer. 

Sounds like a winning strategy to me.

Not My GOP

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

NOT MY GOP

 I have been active in politics for decades. I set on the executive committee of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. I managed the Congressional campaign of a Democrat. I was liaison with General Eisenhower when Governor William Scranton sought the presidency in 1964. I attended presidential nominating conventions. A son of a Democrat U.S.Senator was in my wedding party. Although I opposed the nomination of Senator Barry Goldwater I ended up traveling on his whistle stop campaign after he won the nomination.

All that I learned through those experiences seems inadequate today. The traditional rules no longer apply.

The wise old men of the Democratic and Republican parties used to be able to structure the national ticket. Those days are over.

Everyone complains that the GOP is in the hands of the Tea Party people or the extreme conservatives. Yet, that ignores that the nomination of John McCain and Mitt Romney completely negates that thought. When the GOP nominates moderates or liberals they lose. Both Romney and McCain had more experience and practice in politics than the man who beat them, twice, Barack Obama

Lets look back on that. How did Obama win? He convinced people he would change a political system that the people no longer trusted. In my view, he largely failed in producing that result.

So now the GOP has front runners, Trump and Carson, who also are outside the usual network. This is no surprise. The Dems tried it twice and it worked. Why would the GOP nominate a traditional candidate after being beaten by a Democrat who was not at all a traditional candidate.

Here is what we know: the American people are tired of politics as usual. They are looking for new leaders. If the GOP brokers the convention to give the nomination to a traditional candidate they will certainly lose the election. They may lose it anyway but the loss would be ensured by the nomination of a traditional candidate.

The American people who now vote lived during a time when we were the leader of the free world. We were not frightened of other nations or philosophies.

In the last 16 years we have seen our country vilified. We have seen our leadership in the world reduced. As I have said in so many columns, our allies do not trust us and our enemies do not fear us.

America needs a new kind of leader. If we do not identify that person soon, our decline will continue.

We Get What We Deserve

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

We Get What We Deserve

United States Senators

Everett Dirksen Barry Goldwater

Gayle McGee Hugh Scott

George Mitchell Mike Mansfield

Patrick Leahy Evan Bayh

Jacob Javits Ted Kennedy

Margaret Chase Smith John Danforth

I was fortunate to grow up when there were some outstanding men and women serving in Congress. As I prepared to write this week’s column I jotted down some names, men and women I have met who worked well with both sides of the aisle hammering out good legislation for Americans. This is not to meant to be an exhaustive list and I know my readers might choose to add or subtract from my list.

Of course my list could be considerably longer, especially if I included members of the House of Representatives like John Rhodes and Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm and so many others who worked hard and long in the trenches to learn to be better at their jobs.

Interestingly, these people paid attention, paid their dues, served multiple terms and worked their way up the ladder, just like in any good business, before they were given leadership roles.

We live in different times now. Some of the best people on my list chose to leave Congress because of what it was becoming. They were good people who took notice of the different type of candidate that was being elected.

We live in an age when one term Senators want to be President of the United States. In our time we neither value time in grade, considerable experience or even measurable legislative results.

No one becomes CEO of a major company after completing the one year training program. No consultant or trainer would ever suggest the route to the top in the corporate world is what we accept as good enough in the political world.

I am not addressing candidates who  are Governors of States because history has shown that preparation to be more all inclusive and helpful when one ascends to the presidency. I am sure their are examples but that is not the purpose of this column.

The Governors currently interested in being president are getting zero attention in the press and falling far short in the polls.

The 8x10 glossy Senators, the candidates with the best one liners, the folks who make the debates look like a reality show are getting the attention.

I know most people think this will all shake out in the end with the most qualified candidates being nominated and running a credible race.

You guys can write to me or email me because I have a bridge in Brooklyn  I am looking to sell you and it is a great deal!

The greatest people available in the Senate, the House and the Governorships are not running. Which means we will get a fairly mediocre president and continue the slide that began some years ago.

You will be reading this on Christmas and I want to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday and a prosperous new year.

HELP MEET

Notes of Concern…

   …Jack Blair

“HELP MEET”

“One of the most frequently misunderstood terms in the Bible is the term "helpmeet" in the book of Genesis. Genesis 2:18 says, "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him."

“The common way in which the term "helpmeet" is interpreted is to mean that Eve, unlike the other beasts of the earth, was "appropriate for" or "worthy"  of Adam and was to be his helper or companion on the earth. While there are some really good things about this interpretation, it doesn't do full justice to what the term "helpmeet" really means. The term, in its original Hebrew, means something much more profound and powerful than just a "helper," and when we understand what God was saying to Adam, we come to see Eve's role and the role of women on this earth in a much different light.

“Women are "saviors" to men by the fact that they give them life and nurture them towards the light of Christ. By conceiving, creating, and bearing mortal bodies, women make it possible for God's children to start on their mortal journey and have the opportunity to become perfected. Without women, there would be no gateway into this world and no opportunity for progress or exaltation.”

These quotes are taken from a source titled Women in the Scripture.

I wanted to write about “helpmeets” but to do so with the understanding that people have many different forms of religious beliefs, if they have religious beliefs at all. The purpose of this column is to highlight the importance of having a “helpmeet,” and I realize in the larger sense, having such a person in one’s life does not require a religious connotation. If in discussing this subject I can encourage my readers to look beside them, identify their “helpmeets” in life, and perhaps take a moment to acknowledge the importance of that person.

As my readers know, I am not a person who writes columns on religion. But I am a person who likes to acknowledge great contributions by Americans, especially when they pass from this life. And there are “help meets” in every walk of life. Obviously the biblical reference is not suggesting an inequality between a man and wife but rather referring to the major roles both can play. The man needs the support of the woman, so he can meet his goals and objectives and responsibilities. I see this as implying it would be difficult for him to accomplish this without the woman. Conversely, the woman depends on the man to fulfill his role and free her up to meet her own goals. 

Teamwork.

Hand in hand.

In this column I am choosing to acknowledge the death two weeks ago of a “helpmeet” who I think is a good standard for the title: Vonette Bright. Her name may mean very little to most of my readers because her husband, Dr. Bill Bright, was more in the spotlight. 

Bill died a number of years ago. But throughout their marriage Vonette was the “helpmeet” I think the Bible anticipated.

This husband and wife team dreamed of and formed what became known as Campus Crusade for Christ. The seed of their idea grew and grew, and now hundreds of thousands of people, almost all volunteers, are working throughout the world to meet the goals of this organization.

After Bill’s death, the name was changed to CRU. Some felt “Crusade” implied something militaristic. So in the US that organization, based in Orlando, FL, is now know as CRU if you wish to Google it and learn more.  

I met Bill Bright decades ago when a friend, Charles Stetson, took me to Orlando for an meeting Dr. Bright. We had a wonderful meeting in Dr. Bright’s modest office in an absolutely beautiful campus setting. I was impressed with him and with everyone on his staff. 

We invited him to speak at an event we were planning in New England, and he accepted.

Years later I went back as he had invited me to lunch. I was surprised that the lunch was just the two of us and was in his home. His health had deteriorated, and he needed to carry around a tank of oxygen. Movement was difficult for him. 

Having said that, he was as enthusiastic as when we first met, and we had a very personal discussion about faith. I was particularly pleased to learn he had studied and written about the faith of the Founding Fathers, and he presented me with a signed copy of that book and some others he had written.

Vonette was busy around the house, but it was clear she was writing another book of her own, traveling and speaking, and supporting Bill in all the activities of Campus Crusade.

The White House has a number of Christmas parties each year for important contributors to the health of the nation, and Bill and Vonette always were invited and loved to go. The year we met he felt he would  have to miss the event because of the difficulties flying commercially would cause with his health problems. 

While I was there, he learned that someone had offered a private jet to take Bill and Vonette to be with the President, and The White House had arranged a scooter for him to use while there. Afterward Bill loved to talk about riding up and down those sacred halls in his scooter. 

As Bill’s health continued to deteriorate, Vonette became more and more involved in working with those who ran Campus Crusade, while still caring for her husband and helping him with his writing. At the same time, her own commitments were growing.

One day the dreaded news came that Bill was now confined to his bed and did not have much time left to live.  My wife and I were invited to come to say goodbye.

When we entered the house, we had to take off our shoes and wear face masks as we were led into the bedroom. Bill had a face mask and tubes inserted in parts of his body but was propped up with pillows and welcomed us without mentioning the heath problems, complimented my wife, and we had fifteen minutes of good interchange. He was as excited and enthusiastic as ever. He had to parcel out his final hours and tired easily, so those who were visiting him had to keep the conversation short.

Now throughout all these visits and talks, I knew Vonette was on top of everything. I learned from Bill how they met and how this idea took place when they were in college. He always saw it as an equal partnership. Clearly, Vonette saw it biblically-she was his helpmeet. And Bill saw no definition of “helpmeet” that in any way contemplated one of the team as more important than the other.

So this column is dedicated to Vonette Bright with appreciation for the great woman she was, the fantastic writer and speaker she became, the organization to which she and her husband gave birth, and to her understanding and acceptance of the role of “help meet.” 

A “help meet” might well not be a spouse. All of us have someone who probably occupies this role. 

I am blessed to have had a “help meet” for 47 years who has fulfilled the role as defined in our religion. For this I am grateful. 

I urge my readers to think of this concept, not necessarily in a religious sense, but rather to discover and acknowledge your partners in life.

RACISTS

NOTES OF CONCERN…

   Jack Blair

                            RACISTS?

We are pretty proud of George Washington, and we honor him.

We are very proud of Thomas Jefferson and celebrate him as wordsmith of our most import national documents.

And history tells us James Madison joins with the founding fathers as deserving of our respect.

James Monroe, too, joins this list of honored presidents.

And who could forget Andrew Jackson? The first “people’s president.” The hero of New Orleans.

James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor, perhaps lesser known but honored and respected throughout history.

I am going to arbitrarily stop listing famous, honorable, and admired previous presidents.

George Washington found 18 slaves at Mount Vernon when he moved in. When he married, he gained 200 more. By 1786 he owned 216 slaves.

Was he a racist? Do we find him less honorable? Does that big monument to him that reaches to the stars need to come down because it offends?

Thomas Jefferson’s wife brought 100 slaves to their marriage. And he purchased many more during his lifetime, becoming at one point the largest slaveholder in Virginia. 

Shall we demolish the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC? That beautiful round domed granite building that everyone goes to visit.

James Madison owned slaves all of his life. Even when he sold his farms, he did not free or sell his slaves.

James Monroe owned 30-40  slaves. A small player compared to those presidents who came before.

President Andrew Jackson bought his first slave in 1788. By 1794 he had at least 16 slaves. He did not free his slaves in his will. Remember, he was the “peoples’ president.”

Zachary Taylor owned 100 slaves. He never sold or freed any of them. *

(all this information comes from research and publications of Rob Lopresti.)

Twelve of our presidents owned slaves, and eight of them owned slaves while serving as President of the United States.

I wanted to share this information, not to in any way degrade the individual men or their service to the nation, but to demonstrate that different norms, mores, and traditions have existed throughout our history. I do so also because I am not only not a racist personally but have spent many years of my adulthood supporting causes designed to provide opportunity and advancement to blacks in our country and in South Africa.

As time moved on and people became more enlightened or simply found the needs of farming and manufacturing, the inventions that helped with daily tasks  enabled them to think differently about the issue of owning slaves.

I see the current brouhaha over whether the Confederate Battle Flag was used to declare a racist South or whether it was a symbol to mothers and fathers of fallen children who fought for a way of life that existed then. Time brings all things into perspective through humanities way of “moving on” and trying each day to make life better.

There has been a great deal of silliness around this issue recently, calls for not only the removal of the Confederate Battle flag from where it flies but also calls to do away with the United States Flag because of failures over history in our country over many issues. 

Recently someone wanted to cut out reruns of the TV show The Dukes of Hazard because the car in the show was painted with a Confederate Flag. Really?

So should we burn all copies of Gone with the Wind and any other movie that in any way glorifies the history of that time? Should we go to Washington and demolish every monument to a president who owned slaves?  

While we are at it, should we protest outside the homes of people who love that Confederate Battle  flag for all the right reasons? If we did that, would we be much different than the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses on lawns of people who disagree?

We live in a time when most of us believe every human being is created equal. There is a minority who disagree but, thankfully, they are a minority.

On occasion, I think the majority really are not in charge of how we live and operate our country. The majority is pushed around on all sorts of issues.

Any student of history will accept that people have held wrong ideas and done wrong things throughout time. But history moves on. People change. Wrongs are righted. We learn and we discover. We should be hopeful.

But over time America occasionally operates like the old television Gong Show, and I get a little less optimistic. At the moment, we are in the midst of one of those times.