I remember standing at the entrance of Pan-African Village with then-Congressman Jim Walsh as the Hillary Clinton entourage arrived. We were practically trampled by the crowd clamoring to get a glimpse of the Clintons, who were attending the annual luncheon at the New York State Fair.
Congressman Walsh had no entourage. He was standing alone observing the scene. I looked at him and chuckled as the crowd squeezed by hoping for a peek at celebrity and politics merged into the “being” of one couple.
Having a President on the fairgrounds proved to be a logistical nightmare for some. You could scan the rooftops of the buildings to see people with guns, men on the ground with special ear pieces (this was pre-Bluetooth).
It was clear to all involved that security was the main focus. How do you keep a couple safe in a crowd of 90,000 people, especially a crowd so polarized?
Our local officials are not isolated politicians who sit on the throne unseen by human eyes. These public servants go to the grocery store and have impromptu discussions at the milk cooler with their constituents.
Senator Nancy Lorraine Hoffmann would shop at the Westcott Big M even though she was close enough to stores where she could have purchased the same items cheaper. But she was “chillin'” with the “peeps.”
Over the last decade we’ve become caught up in the 24-hour cable television news cycle, and on radio, the incessant on-air yacking of angry Neo-Conservatives who want to “take their government back.”
On the other side are Liberals who want all or nothing and will lob inflammatory names like “racist” and “intolerant” if there’s any disagreement with their policies.
I recall an invitation to a party and clearly marked on all the invitations was one simple request: “leave your politics at the door.”
It’s become so nasty that many people avoid discussions about politics all together and remain silent while the political extremist bullies both sides and take control of the body-politic.
The events in Arizona on Saturday Jan. 8, 2011 should be a wakeup call, regardless of what caused a man to assassinate public officials.
Killed were a 9-year-old girl who was a newly elected student council member and a federal judge who just stopped by to say hello to his congresswomen. Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords’ constituent services aid was also killed.
Among the injured is the Congresswomen herself, a symbol of our democracy, a member of our U.S. Congress or the House of Representatives (also called “the peoples’ house” because its members reflect changing attitudes of the public measured every two years).
The events of last year were foretelling when we were going through the so-called health care debate.
People were instructed to attend meetings only to yell and shout down members of Congress as they attempted to measure their district’s ideas for this massive bill.
The shouting has now turned into assassinations and our elected officials can no longer hangout with the “peeps” (the people). I’m afraid this is only the beginning, as a gaggle of people with issues will decide to take matters into their own hands.
