A salute to service, and an aspiration

A service by the public

Not all Americans can or necessarily want to serve their country actively in the military. That can be a matter of timing and or choice, but there is certainly one way all citizens can stand up for the United States. And that is to vote. So if I may as a proud — no make that very proud — lifetime member of the VFW, say this to all those who voted in this wonderful record breaking burst of enthusiasm at the ballot box in these past very crucial midterms. Thank you for your service.

A man of service to the public

George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, had an incredible life with many things to be proud of. To be sure I wished he had not listened to Lee Atwater and used the “Willie Horton” felon gambit to get elected president. But he was a World War II veteran and for years after his presidency he was a force for bipartisanship and cooperation, so there’s much to appreciate.

He was a Yale man through and through. Still, it was a Princeton guy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose description of his protagonist in The Great Gatsby might be agreed on by those who voted for him and those who voted against him. And that was that just like Gatsby, President George H.W. Bush “turned out all right in the end.” Darned all right.

An aspiration for the public

So the Senate runoff in Mississippi ended in victory for a Republican as almost everyone knew it would, defeating Democratic candidate Mike Espy.

To be sure, the victor Sen. Cindy HydeSmith had some interesting, traditional, if not too pleasant racial baggage. She went to a segregated school and made sure her daughter did the same, and joked distastefully about attending a public hanging, especially given Mississippi’s history of lynching African-Americans.

Then came President Donald Trump campaigning wholeheartedly for her, and for the benefit of his base. And as we know, according to Mr. Trump, he is “the least racist person you’ll ever meet.”

The results of this race were to most everyone a foregone conclusion, but that said the future of race in America doesn’t have to be. And if Mr. Trump truly speaks to you, when he says that he is indeed the least racist person you’ll ever meet, I have this wholeheartedly from the heart suggestion as a resolution for the new year … meet more people. Please.

Norman L. Bender Woodbridge