Grandmothers for Kerry
October 10, 2004Grandmothers span many decades in age, but we share this: thinking and caring about the future of our families and of our country. There are certain things we expect for and from our children and from our President.
1. Truth
We expect the truth.
Truth telling happens when the teller - child or President - gives enough facts for the listener to understand the truth.
Manipulating the truth happens when the teller - child or President - tells only enough to persuade the listener to agree with his version of the story.Our President told us we needed to go to war with Iraq because Saddam Hussein was connected to Al Quaida and to terrorist plots and because he had weapons of mass destruction.
President Bush manipulated the truth and this country suffers because of it.2. Trust
Trust is the cornerstone of relationships, whether within families or between the President and the governed. When a child or the President tells the truth we gain trust. To be trustworthy includes both truth telling and abiding by promises - family promises or national promises.President Bush has reneged on important promises made by this country.
He refused to sign the Kyoto treaty - a major international effort to reduce air pollution.
He overruled American participation in the World Court - a multinational effort to hold countries and perpetrators accountable for war crimes.
He opened millions of US western acres to development that were held in national trust for future generations.3. Respect
Respect means honoring others by listening to and hearing their opinions. This is crucial in a family and in the world.Our President appears to have selective hearing, listening to the few with whom he agrees. Unwarranted haste to invade Iraq against the advice of many showed disrespect for the voices of well-informed advisors, some of our closest allies, and many nations worldwide.
The detaining of prisoners from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, without counsel or communication respects neither the Geneva Convention nor the laws of the United States.
The No Child Left Behind law shows no respect for the core American value of local and state control of education. The law might better be called All Schools Left Behind, with insufficient funds.
4. Security
There is a prayer that ends "May there be peace in the heart, peace in the home, peace in the nation ,peace in the world. May peace begin right now in each of our hearts." The peace it describes seeks to overcome fear and anger.A real sense of security comes not from raising fear - in either children nor in the nation.
It comes by taking measures to prevent dangers that can be avoided; fire in the home, terrorism in the nation.
Whatever the precautions - fires sometimes happen, and terrorists sometimes succeed.Oft repeated dire warnings paralyze both a child or a nation.
Preventive measures and clear instructions for emergencies can remove much of the fear from both, allowing them to live their lives.5. Confidence
If a child's confidence comes from being the biggest bully on the playground, something is wrong.
If his confidence comes from engaging in and enjoying the world around him, something is right.If America's confidence comes from being the mightiest military power in the world, something is wrong.
If our confidence comes from being a partner in a world that dares to trust each other, and being a nation that raises our children to believe that the human family is, just that - a family - then something is right.John Kerry will bring us closer to a world in which truth, trust, respect, security, and confidence inspire belief that our nation, and our world can do better.
Jenepher Lingelbach
East Barnard, Vermont