Mums The Word (In My Case) ...

A dear friend wrote me the other day. We were classmates at South Park High School in Beaumont back in the early 1950s. He prefers that I not use his real name so just call him “Rusty.” That is because he had rusty red hair in those early days. Now-a-days, he is seen as balding and gray. But I stop short of calling him old because he is a bit younger than I am. Anyway, he mentioned several incidents that took place during our high school days at SPHS.

One thing Rusty asked is why I haven’t written anything about the presidential campaign and the upcoming elections? I had to be honest with Rusty and I’ll share that honesty with you.

Plenty has been written and is being written by learned political columnists from all over the country and the world concerning our forthcoming elections. There is no need for me to put forth my two-cents’ worth. However, I am most grateful to know that I have the freedom to write about the elections should I so elect.

You should know that I am proud to be an American. I am a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen of the United States of America and I love our country with all my being. I am patriotic. I stand to honor our flag and I place my hand over my heart when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I even know the words to the Star Spangled Banner.

However, in the midst of all this patriotism, I find myself growing wearier by the day of campaigns and elections. At the same time, I appreciate the freedoms of campaigning and casting my votes as I choose.

But I am weary of the monstrosities that many have made out of the constitutional processes that we gratuitously call “politics.” So many individuals and groups have made this a game of power, money, and greed that I have elected to stand aside or above the melee where there still may be a bit of fresh air. In other words, as I explained to Rusty, I do not have the power to perform miracles. So I have chosen to sidestep all the political stampeding of this election year. Thus no political column from this old Beaumont boy. There are some things we can do though.

Be sure to vote and consider prayerfully those for whom you vote. My prayer is that our votes go to heal the ills of our country. And speaking of our prayers, they need to accompany our every decision that we will be making this week.

Let your votes be to the glory of God. Remember that our nation was founded upon a belief in Him. Anything that is less than a God-fearing nation is a step downward.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the enactment placing “In God We Trust” on our currency and also the one inserting the phrase, “One Nation Under God” into our Pledge to the flag. Since those days, there seems to have been a gradual shift to take God out of things, i.e. prayer out of the schools, the Ten Commandments from the school house walls, the Holy Bible from the court house lawns, etc.

Yes, man has made a monstrosity out of our political process but God can make us healthy once again. We can stand tall as a nation of peace, integrity and prosperity. This writer cannot expostulate on which candidate to favor. However, I can suggest to you how to vote. May God be lifted up when you go to the polls.

The foregoing is how I explained to Rusty why I haven’t written anything about the presidential campaign or the elections.

Winston Hamby
WinHamby@comcast.net