The election is over and the people have spoken.
I have seen many things in my lifetime, along with that of my peers. A young vital president was shot and killed while sitting in a motorcade next to his wife. His killer was shot and killed on live television while in police custody. A president resigned in disgrace for dirty tricks.
Children of color were turned away from educational institutions, their homes burned, and too often, family members were lynched or otherwise murdered.
Other Americans have been jailed, bullied, discriminated against and often persecuted because of their sexual orientation.
I have been bombarded through the media with lurid tales of presidential and other elected officials’ sexual shenanigans, financial scams, and embezzlements.
I have mourned the assassinations of Malcolm X, Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., men who fought to make our country a place we could all be proud to call home.
I have also mourned the death of a grandson, Petty Officer Third Class James Layton, a Navy medic killed in a war declared by old men who never served in one.
And now I have lived to see a convicted felon and proud sexual predator elected to the highest office in the land.
News articles online, talking heads on television, and Facebook, X and other internet sites are filled with hateful, hurtful comments about revenge against other elected officials, campaign donors and election place volunteers.
I do not vote for women because they are women and I don’t vote for men because they are smarter, stronger or” better suited for the job” than women. I do not vote the party line because it is the party line.
I cast my vote for the person I believe has the city's, county's, and country’s best interests at heart. I have, from time to time, voted while holding my nose and hoping I correctly chose the lesser of two evils.
I do not always agree or disagree with the people I have voted for on every project, program, or law they endorse. I hope and try to trust they have access to information I do not, and that they are acting in good faith.
I do not frequent talk shows who attempt to tell me what and/or how to think. I may not always be right, but my value system matters to me and I follow prefer to examine, research, and think for myself, following my instincts – not someone else’s.
And now my instincts are telling me we are in big trouble. The greater good no longer seems to matter – hands reaching across the aisle to reach a compromise that will work for all of us no longer reaches another hand.
It seems to be all about money. And not for us, the lower or middle-class citizens, but those who exploit those citizens. Those who think that because they have a lot of money, it entitles them to the type of behavior that the rest of us would be arrested and jailed for.
Fasten your seat belts, America; we are in for a very bumpy ride. I pray we will make it through to the other side where common sense, decency, integrity, and honesty will return as the norm.
Fingers crossed …
Kathleen Anderson writes this column each week from her home in Olympia. Contact her at kathleen@theJOLTnews.com or post your comments.
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Nancydqc
So true, thank you for sharing this. I’m 83 and remember all those historical moments you mentioned, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for the latest. I really always thought what is going on now could never happen in the United States. How do we wake up to common sense?
Wednesday, November 13 Report this
Kruz81
Horrible opinion but it's what I would expect from a brain washed old lady. To not understand that Trump already led us greatly for 4 years already is delusional. The other side would have ruined our country even more with your woke disease as well as trying to fill the country with illegal votes and aliens. Do us a favor and just go watch TV.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
Esther
Kruz81 -Thank you for illustrating the dismissive and hurtful attitude towards your neighbor that elected a deeply flawed human being devoid of empathy, decency and intellect. When we no longer have FEMA to help in the inevitable natural disasters or special education once the Dept. of Education is closed, or protection of our water supply when the EPA is dismantled, and high food prices when the immigrants who plant and harvest it all are gone, and on and on, we’ll only have our neighbors to turn to for support. Maybe then we’ll learn that “love your neighbor as yourself” are not just pretty words in church but the means for our survival and well being.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
Grailking
When I was six years old I was expected to:
Not lie
Not cheat
Not steal
Not be a braggart
Not be a bully
Own up to my mistakes
Apologize when I hurt someone
It doesn't seem too much to ask from grown men who want the privilege of leadership.
Character matters and I shudder to think how harsh this lesson is going to be for us all.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
Somney
Well spoken, well said.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
oldgar9
Esther, Christianity is not the only religion that teaches 'do unto others', all of the world religions teach this, so whether in church, temple or synagogue this is the standard for human interaction:https://www.bahaiblog.net/articles/bahai-life/different-religions-same-golden-rule/
Thursday, November 14 Report this
ViaLocal
Wonderfully, wonderfully stated. Thank you for sharing your opinion, and your past experiences that helped shape that opinion. And Esther, thank you for calling out Kruz81 and the ugliness that stems from having someone like Trump in office, and reminding of us all of what America has to look forward to.
In my experience, many Trump supporters listen to the same podcasts and news shows that brainwash people into thinking that he is doing good for this country. These media outlets are owned by rich people who have enough money to support their families for centuries. Trump will only make the rich more rich, at the sacrifice of everyone below them.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
KellyOReilly
Yeah I'm with you, Kathleen. I've held my nose to vote in the past too; although, not this time. And I'm also old enough to remember the assassinations you wrote of. I've been coping with the tragic results of this most recent national election by reminding myself how blessed I am to not be living in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, and so many other places on this planet were people are suffering so terribly. I've also been anchoring myself in my spiritual practices, yoga and exercise in order to avoid thinking about who was just elected president and what he may or may not do. And ditto to Esther's retort to Kruz81!
Thursday, November 14 Report this
MamaBear
Well, Kathleen, you got everything you wanted in the statewide elections. So we will continue to have rampant, unpunished crime, uncontrollable wildfires, protesters who support terrorists destroying public property, etc. etc. The way I see it the two choices for President were the socialist/communist ticket and the capitalist ticket, and even though the West Coast and the East Coast are in their little Left-Wing bubbles, the rest of the country is not. While you are doing all your research and thinking, try listening or watching something other than NPR, MSNBC, and all the other biased media. While you are remembering your past, try to remember when journalists reported facts, not opinions.
Thursday, November 14 Report this
wolfmanner
Kathleen seems to have a severe case of TDS and reading too many Socialist books. Remember (You probably do} what Lenin said. " The goal of socialism is Communism.And those summoned are Socialists posing as "Progressives" . A real Progressive who hated Communism or Bolsheviks was Teddy Roosevelt.
Saturday, November 16 Report this
JacobMarley
I have some questions since we are about the same age. "...lived to see...a proud sexual predator elected to the highest office in the land". Which one are you referring to? Our 42nd president? Or did you conveniently forget about Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and Monica Lewinsky, who he had sexual relations within the White House. He then became the 2nd president in history to be impeached for lying under oath to a federal grand jury while his wife then did everything she could to discredit and destroy these women. Or our 46th president and Tara Reade, who was forced to leave the country out of fear for her life.
"...convicted felon?' I wouldn't pop the champagne just yet as this is still America and the appeals process may prove otherwise. Sorry for spoiling your party,
"Integrity & Honesty"? Are you talking about the 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate and her entire staff who fabricated the "Russian Collusion" hoax to influence the election which the 44th president, his vice president and his entire intelligence agency knew about and did nothing or when that same 44th administration fabricated evidence to spy on their political opponent? Oh, you must have meant when the FBI director admitted that he personally leaked classified information to a news reporter friend of his with the intention to hurt 45's presidency and laughed when he told how they entrapped an American citizen for the sole purpose of destroying his life, even threatening to imprison his son, under the Logan Act of 1799 (1799!!!) that had been suggested at the White House with both the 44th and current president present. The liberal audience in attendance clapped and laughed and laughed as he actually smirked about what he had gotten away with.
Or did you mean to mention when 50 former intelligence officers, including the husband of a national news reporter, deliberately collaborated to give false information about the legitimacy of a laptop in order to interfere with our election process in 2020 with complete immunity from our media only to admit the truth "after" the election that the laptop was indeed real.
Oh, I know what you meant now. You were referring to 1988 when our current president had to drop out of the race for plagiarisms and lying about his academic record. Or was it when one party labels the other party as Nazis for holding a rally in THE EXACT SAME VENUE where the 42nd president accepted his party's nomination back in 1992.
"Decency"? Do you mean when Federal Agents, dispatched by the A.G. under the current administration, raided the home of the 45th President looking for alleged classified documents and, in the process ransacked the room of his teenage son and went thru the personal under-garments of the former First Lady? You are okay with that, right? Armed Federal Agents going thru not just the Former First lady, but any woman's underwear "looking for classified documents."
When a supporter of the democratic party, which claims to be of a higher standard, is caught on video screaming into the face of an innocent two-year-old child in a stroller. Again, you are okay with that, right?
"Decency, Integrity & Respect" Do you mean what the current president showed a complete lack of as he kept checking his watch after each casket of our fallen soldiers from the debacle in Afghanistan were brought off the plane.?
"Decency & Integrity" Do you mean when a busload of illegal migrants showed up at the wealthy liberal enclave of Martha's Vineyard? (Where 44 has a $11.7M home. Of course, if Bernie Sanders, the champion of the common working man, can have a home in the Hamptons then sure, why not?) "Integrity is what you do when no one is looking". Here was your chance. The best of the best to show the world how it is done, and they didn't care who saw or watched. In less than 24hrs the cream of the crop of liberal hierarchy gave those illegal migrants a fruit basket, new sweater and a one-way bus ticket off of THEIR island. Don't let the ferry boat hit you in the back end on the way out.
"Common Sense"? I am not trying to play the game "Oh yeah, well what about..." but as long as you have people on both sides who choose to grab the wrong end of the stick to make their point then good luck with that. Both parties are flawed. Both candidates had flaws. If we applied the "Six Year Old" standards of ethics to all candidates equally then there would be no one eligible for president.
If someone doesn't like the results of the system, then get involved. I do not like our current president or his administration's policies but when their replacement candidate made it clear they wouldn't change anything, then I made my choice.
Above all, the most important thing is we need to have is respect for one another. I have many friends who vote differently than I do but there is no harsh rhetoric between us because we respect each other. If your argument is "Well, if they don't respect me then why should I?" then that is not respect or integrity, that is called manipulation where you only pretend to behave one way in order to get the result that YOU want.
Anyway, I still enjoy your column, Kathleen.
Oh, by the way, thank you for bringing up Malcom X. His children have just filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging that the FBI, CIA, NYPD and others played a role on his murder in 1965. Remind me again, who was the party of common sense, decency, integrity and honesty in charge back then....
Sunday, November 17 Report this
Dogmom
Of course, everyone remembers when Trump first took office how the liberal media immediately attacked his integrity by showing us those horrible pictures of illegal immigrant children in cages. Funny how you quickly quit seeing those exact photos on those exact same liberal media outlets. That was because those exact photos were from the previous Obama/Biden administration. Oops!
Or when both Biden and Harris attacked the integrity of our brave border patrol agents by accusing them of "whipping" illegal migrants while on horseback. Biden stated that their actions were "outrageous" and that "I promise you those people will pay" while Harris played the race card on The View by saying she compared it to "times during slavery".
And let's not forget that despicable Mayorkas who was told hours before, and therefore knew, that there was no evidence BP agents had "whipped" anyone before he bolstered Biden's lies about the incident. What a horror of an excuse for a human being!
And when the claim was proven to be false, even by the photographer who took the actual photo, the response from Biden/Harris was crickets.
Lying, being a bully, owning up to their mistakes, apologizing? I guess it IS too much to ask from grown liberal men AND women who want the privilege of leadership.
Common sense, decency, integrity, honesty, and above all character, does matter but apparently only if your political party begins with an R.
Great idea for a new game show: "Do you have more integrity than a six grader?"
Sunday, November 17 Report this
Chappellg
I texted with a 93 yr old American friend who was born in London & was separated from their parents & evacuated with many children during the Luftwaffe blitz. They told me, “I have lived thru one dictator of a former democracy and now I’m afraid of living thru another.” Such a horrific shame for America.
And to those who write of “distortions” of the mainstream press, I ask you to fact check the stories of Fox, Breitbart and their ilk. Equating the hypocrisies and immoralityof a supporter of democracy like Clinton with the autocracy of Trump is like equating a bonfire with an unfettered wildfire.
Tuesday, November 19 Report this
MrCommonSense
Isn't it wonderful how disrespectful we've become with one another? Everyone keeps throwing stones and our glass house continues to shatter. Best of luck to those involved. I'm learning to dodge the rocks and hoping my health insurance covers my injuries if I get hit!
Monday, November 25 Report this