A Walk in the Park: A Conversation About Voting and Values
You walk your dogs in the park in Colorado during a Broncos game, and it usually is empty until today. Seated on a park bench, I came across a neighbor, alone and seated, staring into the trees. I inquired if everything was okay. He mumbled no, but then said he was alright, but the world was “messed up.” He is an 84-year-old retired US Treasury Officer and Deputy US Marshall. I call him Rooster (after the character Rooster Cogburn). I reply the world is always “messed up” why they have police and federal officers. He smiled, revealing his growing tooth gaps, something he tried to hide.
A Surprising Confession
He then blurts out, “I can tell you even though you are a DEMO-crat because we are friends.” I reply, “Oh, we are talking about the world, okay?”
He continues, “Dick Cheney, someone I knew from the old days, probably the most Republican conservative person I knew, said he was not voting for Trump.” Raising his voice, “GOD DAMMIT, We’ve been DUPED!”
I smiled and replied, and that has “messed up the world”?
The Dilemma of Voting
Looking at me, he said resignedly, “Yes, what am I to do with my vote? Is Trump really that dangerous? I hate DEMO-crats. We’ve been holding them back since Reagan. How the heck or why did you become a DEMO-crat?”
I get up from the bench as the dogs need to walk, and because that is what we are doing, they have a walking constitution. “Long story, but it started with Nixon, then I was educated and know history as the Republicans are all about getting power to exploit it to their benefit, while Democratic politicians, for the most part, are for distributing things more equitably. I’ll finish with the overwhelming sociological and psychological evidence in studies that identify that conservatives see the world through inherent inequity where the elite or those who seek to be elite are superior to the commoners, and it is that they should lead. At the same time, liberals look at the world as inequality and seek to make the world more equitable, and all should be represented. Ultimately, conservatives trust those in authority, while liberals inherently distrust those in authority to take advantage for themselves or their constituency.”
A New Understanding
He looks up and says, “No one ever explained that to me, and then asks, “If Dick Cheney thinks that Trump is that bad, then it’s not about DEMO-crats vs Republicans, is it.”
I resume walking and then say, “Hey, you got it; it’s the Democratic and old Republican parties versus Trumpism, which is American fascism aided by the Russians.”
The Final Thought
Shaking his head, he says, “That is sad, FOR REAL? But I still can’t vote for Harris or a Democrat; it’s not what I want to do if this is my last election.”
Walking away, I say, “Rooster, with all respect, sure, you can think that this year’s vote is more about those grandchildren that come over cause a racket having fun in your pool; it is not about you, it’s about keeping America as America.”
