Should Voting Become a Civic Obligation?

A friend of mine recently gave me a book to read which advocates that all citizens in the United States be required to vote. Initially, I sort of “blew off” the idea because I just can’t see such a change happening in my lifetime. In today’s political environment it would likely be portrayed as just one more “mandate” to be foisted upon the American people.

What I didn’t realize before reading the book, is that over 20 countries in the world do require their citizens to vote, probably the most prominent nation being Australia–which was also one of the first nations in the world to require a secret ballot for elections.

Australia made voting a civic duty back in 1924. It was actually the conservatives in Australia who proposed it. Conservatives had been faced with the reality that political parties supporting labor had been using a bevy of volunteer workers to get-out-the-vote. They reasoned that if everyone was required to vote, that it would reduce the competition coming from the labor sector.

Of course, it did that, but it also brought out a lot more people to the polls overall. Election Day today in Australia is deemed to be a national holiday and members of political parties also make it a national “barbecue and picnic” day where people can gather either before or after they have voted. And, what happens in Australia if you decide not to vote or don’t have a legitimate reason (like a health problem) for not voting? Answer, you are subject to a fine of about $15. The result of all of this, is that, on average, over 90% of Australians vote in their election. Compare that to the American experience where we average somewhere between 40%-60% in voter turnout.

We Americans take great pride in our “rights” as individuals as outlined in the Constitution. What we don’t do so well are accepting “obligations” of citizenship. 

We Americans, of course, take great pride in our “rights” as individuals as outlined in the Constitution. We are pretty good also at accepting what we call “entitlements”–think of Social Security and Medicare as an example. However, what we don’t do so well are accepting “obligations” of citizenship. We do, often reluctantly, pay our taxes which are an obligation. We also, when called upon in time of war, have accepted the draft as being an obligation of citizenship. There is also general recognition that, as citizens, we have the duty to serve on a jury if selected to do so.

So, what would make it so bad to also require people to vote? Voting is fundamental to the working of a democracy. We could even require that a person voting have a choice to select “None of the Above,” or write in a name if they don’t like any of the candidates.

One great practical advantage of universal voting, it seems to me, is that our politics would probably become less toxic. Because of low voter turn-out, we are much more susceptible to outrageous demands by both the radical right and the far-left. Because of low voter participation they can leverage their extreme views much more effectively. If politicians knew that, in the end, they would be elected by 90% or more of their fellow citizens–they would tone down their rhetoric to address the needs of the vast majority, not just the vocal minority.

What do you think? Maybe it is time to make voting a civic duty or obligation here in the United States of America. It seems to me that it could likely result in our having a stronger and more resilient democracy.


Rolland Kidder

Witnessing the Last Stand at Mariupol

As the war in Ukraine has ground on, the world has witnessed a few hundred fighters holed up in a destroyed steel plant in Mariupol fighting against an overwhelming force of thousands of Russian troops trying to take the city. It has been a David vs. Goliath story– a small dedicated force, defending their homeland and willing to take on the full brunt of the Russian Army.

Recently, the last remnants of these fighters, low on food, water and ammunition, finally surrendered to the Russian invaders. In my reading of human history, Mariupol could go down in the history books with Thermopylae–a battle at a mountain pass in Greece where a small force of Greek soldiers, though eventually vanquished, stopped an Army of thousands of invading Persians in 450 B.C. Though the Persians finally prevailed, the Greek soldiers who made their defensive stand at Thermopylae are the ones remembered in history for their courage and commitment.

The Russian propaganda machine will spin things differently and speak of conquering “Nazis” and liberating the city. But, what Putin’s media spin won’t tell you is that during the 2-3 months it took to conquer Mariupol, the West was able to supply Ukraine with enough weapons so that the Ukrainian people could stop a wholesale take-over of their country.

Strategically, the Russian invasion of Ukraine ended up being a tremendous blunder. The rest of the world, after watching apartment buildings being destroyed and innocent people being killed, soon united in near unanimous opposition to the Russian aggression.

One of the objectives of the invasion — to remove Ukraine from being a pro-western, democratic state — also totally failed. Instead, Ukraine is stronger than before and the Russian aggression has so unified the West that even Sweden and Finland (neighbors to the north) are petitioning to join NATO. Now, more nations that border Russia will be unified against its communist/totalitarian system of government. In that respect, Putin’s invasion has totally back-fired on him.

Of course, war is costly and results in unforeseen consequences. There will be a shortage of Russian and Ukrainian wheat this year and people in the middle east will face higher prices and possible hunger. The price of oil has skyrocketed and natural gas has more than doubled in price around the world. And, if you are Russian, your future doesn’t look bright with all of the foreign investment that has been pulled out of the country.

It is sad that Russia has returned to the ways of dictatorship and war. I can still remember the Conference at Chautauqua in 1987 when “glasnost” had begun to open the Soviet Union from years of isolation under communism. Now, by attacking Ukraine, it is taking a step backward in the wrong direction.

It may be an overstatement, but in some ways, Mariupol reminds me a bit of the Alamo in American history.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Ukrainians today have already coined the words: “Remember Mariupol!”

It may be an overstatement, but in some ways, Mariupol reminds me a bit of the Alamo in American history. Though the defenders at the Alamo were killed and Mexico won the battle–it would not be the end of Texas. Texas would declare its independence and become part of the United States. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ukrainians today have already coined the words: “Remember Mariupol!”

Hopefully, there are better days ahead for Ukraine and maybe, someday, the Russian people will rise up again and this time succeed in establishing a democracy governed by the rule of law.

Rolland Kidder

Upstate Has Been In The Headlines

Not often in this urban state (think New York City and its suburbs) does Upstate get a lot of attention, but this has changed in the past few weeks.

The headlines recently have been that a state judge in Bath, NY (Steuben County) is over-seeing the redrawing of Congressional and State Senate legislative district lines. Big-wigs from New York have been traveling to a small, “Podunk” town in Upstate New York to argue their case on how such lines should be drawn even in places like New York City. This has never happened in my memory.

“Big-wigs from New York have been traveling to a small, “Podunk” town in Upstate New York to argue their case on how such lines should be drawn even in places like New York City.”

We can “thank” Republicans for this since they brought the lawsuit challenging the redistricting done in Albany as being especially egregious for them. I say “thanks” in italics, because the only reason they brought the suit is that they no longer control the New York State Senate where, for years, they did their own gerrymandering to better their chances of retaining control of that house of the State Legislature.

To their credit though, the lines drawn by Democrats in the State Legislature this year went “over-the-top” when it came to reducing the chances for Republican success by clustering their incumbents in a few districts and creating more Democratic-friendly seats throughout the State. As a result, we had been thrown into a Congressional District that ran from the shores of Lake Erie to the suburbs of Utica in the Mohawk River valley.

That also would have saddled us with an incumbent Republican Congresswoman now representing that area of the state who has been a very vocal supporter of our previous President and of his unfounded lies about a “stolen” election. Now, at least, we may have a chance to see if the new Master appointed by the Court in Bath can give us a district more resembling our old Southern Tier Congressional District or at least one which is a little closer to home here in Western New York.

Our own Congressional District situation was muddled even more this week when Tom Reed resigned his seat to take a position with a lobbying firm in Washington. Now a special election must be called in the current District, though we still don’t know what the new Congressional District will look like for next year—not an easy scenario for someone wanting to run for Congress.

“If you are an Upstate Democrat, you should be happy right now.”

There has also been another big development for Upstate which has not received as much publicity, and that is the fact that the Democrats this year are running candidates for both Governor and Lieutenant Governor who are from Upstate. Kathy Hochul is from the Buffalo area and Antonio Delgado is a native of Schenectady. If both are successful in the primary, it could be the first time in the history of New York that the Democratic Party has fielded candidates for both of these offices from Upstate. If you are an Upstate Democrat, you should be happy right now.

The legal fracas going on in the court in Steuben County has, of course, “upset the apple cart” when it comes to the political calendar. Right now, along with the upcoming Special Election for Congress in the Southern Tier, it looks like there will be two primary elections this year—one in June and one in August. Nevertheless, the confusion and delays may well benefit Upstate New York if we can get better Congressional District lines and, at the same time, nominate and then elect a couple of Upstate Democrats as Governor and Lieutenant Governor in November. The endorsed Republican candidate for Governor comes from Long Island and his running mate is from New York City.

Rolland Kidder

 

 

Jamestown Post-Journal

An Achievement For Preemptive Diplomacy

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 23, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDEr

Preemptive war has always been a bad idea. Those who start wars usually end up losing them. Yet, it is possible that preemptive diplomacy might help end this most recent one–Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

I am not sure who should get the credit but I have to believe that the American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, was deeply involved in the decision by the United States to warn the world days and weeks before it began–that the Russians were coming.

Those days and weeks of putting the world on notice laid the basis for the near universal condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine when it finally happened.

I don’t know much about Tony Blinken, but I like his demeanor. He is soft-spoken, hard-working and does his best to stay out of the limelight. He reminds me a bit of Dean Rusk, Secretary of State for President John F. Kennedy. Rusk was the same way. He was not a “glory hound” who made bombastic statements. When he spoke, his words meant something.

Blinken recently met with reporters from a group of local news outlets in Washington and said this: “One of the principles that we’ve been inspired by, animated by, is that when we’re not engaged in the world, when the United States is not leading at the table in the room, then one or two things [can happen:] either someone else is and doing things in a way that may not actually advance the interests of the American people and the values that we hold, or maybe no one is, and then you have vacuums and chaos–and that has a way of coming back and biting us.”

If ever there was a lesson that we should have learned from World War II, this is it. The United States as still the strongest democracy in the world cannot just stand by and let world affairs spin out of control. We need to stay engaged, working with our allies and always be vigilant for those who want to turn the world back through dictatorship and war.

When I listened to the words coming from the White House and State Department prior to the Russian invasion, it made me think that we were seeing, in a sense, a new and aggressive form of diplomacy. The United States wasn’t waiting to just react to Russian aggression–it was warning the world of what was likely coming and preparing it for worst. I think it was that preemptive approach that prepared the Western world (those nations that believe in democracy and the rule of law) for the common decision to support Ukraine against the aggressor.

Maybe it was the botched effort at leaving Afghanistan which paved the way for this. Perhaps it took some time for the Biden administration to regroup after that. But this time, I believe, they got it right. Now that the world has seen what unprovoked war can do with millions of refugees fleeing from destruction and an underdog nation fighting back–democracies around the world have become unified in support of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has made his bed and must now lie in it. His own preemptive war is what caused it. Preemptive diplomacy is what has blunted it. How it will all turn out, we don’t know. Yet, let us hope that civilization can dig out from under this latest assault on human rights and find a way back from the brink.

 

 

 The Post-Journal

Building A New Stadium For The Bills

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 16, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

There has been a lot of hoopla about whether or not to build a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills in Western New York. I say “hoopla” because not to build it would be a great disservice and be a negative for our region.

Whether or not you are a football fan, the fact that we have in this small-market area two national professional sports teams, the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills, is a “feather-in-our cap,” a “drawing card” if you will, and is one of the reasons we all like living here. If we didn’t have them, there would be an empty hole in our common life and in our appreciation for this region we live in.

We are also fortunate that we have a deep financial pocket in the Pegula family which has its roots in the Olean area. They could have taken all of their money from a big natural gas deal over a decade ago, and “squirreled” it away in some hedge fund or in guaranteed government bonds. Instead, they invested a lot of it here in Western New York in these two professional sports teams.

I, for one, am glad they did. Without their commitment, it is quite possible that we could have lost both teams. In both situations, the Sabres and Bills, government involvement in financing the stadiums they play in has always been a part of the equation. Without it, neither team would have either been started here or stayed here.

I remember when the current Bill’s stadium was first-built. There was a lot of controversy. A good friend, Dick Keane (now deceased,) was involved then as Chairman of the Erie County Legislature. He told me a lot of good stories on how the deal got done, including a confrontation that he had with then Lawyer John Connally, former Governor of Texas, who was representing a group that wanted a dome stadium in another location. When the dust settled, we had instead a new, beautiful, open-air stadium in Orchard Park which we have enjoyed for many years.

We are now going to have another new, beautiful stadium in Orchard Park. If this were being done in New York City, nothing would be said. Whether it has been the New Penn Station, Yankee Stadium, new airports, big convention centers or rebuilding subways–the state legislature has always taken the steps necessary to get things done in the “Big Apple.”

Now, it is our turn to get the Bills Stadium deal done here in Upstate. Sure, it is expensive. Anything the NFL touches is expensive.

Though there are many things we don’t like about being a distant Upstate cousin in a state dominated by New York City and its suburbs–one thing that they do bring to the table is the financial depth and ability to assist a place like Western New York when it comes to keeping an NFL team located here.

Good for Governor Hochul for reminding those who dominate the marble halls of Albany, that Western New York still exists and needs and wants this stadium built. For those who live below the Tappan Zee Bridge, there is an added bonus–it gives them the chance to send the New York Jets (who now play in New Jersey) out here on an annual basis so that they can actually play one game a year within the confines of the state which bears their name.

So, get over it, New York. Investing to keep the Bills in Buffalo is a good thing. Go Bills!

 

 The Post-Journal

The Peril Of Having ‘Yes Men’

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

APR 2, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

 One of the perils of life that I have observed over the years is that people in positions of power tend to surround themselves with “yes-men.” Of course, this can also include women but the problem is the same–if your surround yourself only with people who agree with you, then you never hear the other side of the story.

This is what happens often with dictators, and it is what happened to Vladimir Putin. He has always wanted to invade Ukraine and restore the old Soviet Union, so he surrounded himself with people who would support that narrative. Now we see the result.

As you study American history, you can see that the best Presidents were those who surrounded themselves with people who were strong, who stood up for the truth, and who would tell a powerful President what they really believed. Franklin Delano Roosevelt did this but probably the greatest example was Abraham Lincoln. A book about Lincoln’s Cabinet is titled Team of Rivals. Lincoln put people in high places in his administration not only who disagreed with him but who had run against him–William Seward probably being the best example.

The “yes-man” problem is not only a problem in government. It can happen in business or in other areas of life. Someone gets rich, thinks he is the smartest guy in town and surrounds himself with “yes-men.”

History is replete with business leaders who have “gone down the tubes” believing their own press releases and listening only to what they want to hear.

Winston Churchill once said: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Dispute and political haggling are always a problem with democracies, but the alternative is usually a one-man system (dictatorship) full of worshipping and adoring “yes-men.” When that happens, you get no honest or truthful information–only the one-way communication of the weak and conniving.

So, this gets us back to what happened in Russia with Vladimir Putin. He didn’t expect that Ukrainians would put up any meaningful resistance when he invaded. His “guts” and personal views were that Ukraine would be crushed, would quickly fold, and that he would take control of the country. He surrounded himself with people to back up that view. Now he is stuck in a quagmire in Ukraine with thousands of his troops (including up to 7 generals) having been killed.

Usually, people in power who get themselves into this kind of mess will have things fixed so that others will “fall on their sword” to take the blame. There has already been a report that a Russian intelligence chief is under house arrest. The sycophants and “yes-men” will now become the scapegoats.

The bottom line is that though we may find disagreement and differing viewpoints to be unsavory and “hard to swallow,” it is still better than having a “yes-man” operation running the show. I am sure that Joe Biden would rather not have to deal with dissident Democrats or criticizing Republicans on Capitol Hill. But, he and we are better served because our democracy is structured to bring dissident voices and variant opinions into the arena of public policy making.

Churchill was right. Despite all of its shortcomings, democracy is still the best choice that mankind has found as a means to govern itself.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.

Realizing What You Don’t Want

 

A lot of politics is taken up with disputes over what people want and how to attain it.  On the lighter side, as an example, while in the state legislature, I recall vehement arguments made between sportsmen about when and how long the deer season should be.   Everyone wanted a healthy and sustainable deer population, but it was sometimes hard to find agreement on how to achieve that.

In a larger and more serious context, we all believe we are patriotic yet we still squabble a lot about how best to achieve that.  Is a Democrat more patriotic than a Republican?  Is our Democracy best protected by increasing voter participation or by suppressing it more to weed out suspected fraud?  Back and forth we go, with both sides saying they are trying to achieve the same patriotic end.

Then, rarely, there can come a moment of national unity, when we stop bickering and people start coming together.  Usually, that happens not when people agree on what they want, but when they “sure as the dickens” realize what they don’t want.

In 1940, the year before the United States entered World War II, there was a lot of bickering and debate in the country over extending the military draft.  An extension of the draft finally passed the House of Representatives but only by one vote.  Then, the following year, we had Pearl Harbor.   After that, there was national unity and extending the draft wasn’t even an issue.   The attack on Pearl Harbor made everyone realize what “we don’t want,” i.e., a foreign power attacking our country.  Our country went to war. (The draft itself lasted up until the end of the Vietnam War.)

I think it was something like a “Pearl Harbor” moment that happened to the collective psyche of the West recently when Russia attacked Ukraine.   Most Americans wouldn’t know the difference between a Russian and a Ukrainian, but when they saw Russians bombing Ukrainian cities and indiscriminately  killing innocent civilians—our national mood changed.   We may not have known much about the old hatreds and fears between these countries, but we realized, and instinctively knew, that this kind of destruction and killing was wrong.   A common vision emerged.  It illustrates my point—often we can’t agree on what the world should be, but we collectively know when we see something that we don’t want it to become.   

Often we can’t agree on what the world should be, but we collectively know when we see something that we don’t want it to become.   

It is a sad commentary, I suppose, that sometimes it takes such horrific events to unify people.  But, to America’s credit, when this has happened to us in the past, we have usually made progress in the end.  World War II ended with our two mortal enemies, Germany and Japan, becoming two of the strongest democracies in the world.  The United Nations, established then and though plagued by lack of enforcement power since, continues as a way for nations to settle disputes short of war.

Maybe, hopefully, when the current darkness ends in Ukraine, democracy can make another step forward.  And, who knows, maybe the brief democratic period that occurred in Russia after the Berlin Wall came down, can be resurrected.   Our hopes for a better world should never be overcome by the travails we face when the dark side of humanity periodically raises its ugly head.  Sometimes realizing what you don’t want can end up being a good thing.

Rolland Kidder

The Russian Invasion Changes Things

Last week, at breakfast, a friend of mine posed this question for our group: “What would you be doing right now if you lived in Ukraine?” After breakfast, with that on my mind, I turned on the car radio to find out the news that the Russians were moving on three fronts–the invasion and subjugation of Ukraine had begun.

Some Americans may say “so what?” Most do not know or haven’t heard much about Ukraine. Yet, Ukraine is a country about the size of Texas with a population of 44 million people. We are not talking about “small peanuts” here. Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade this country is a big deal.

There should be no quarrel now as to what Putin is up to–he wants to cobble back together the old Soviet Union using military force. Despite former President Trump calling him “savvy,” it is clear that he is a tyrant of the first order. We in the West should have seen this coming after his forcible taking of Crimea in 2014.

...wars are very easy to get into but usually very difficult to get out of.

One thing true about tyrants is that they can act quickly and unilaterally. They have no messy democratic process to deal with. However, it is also true that wars are very easy to get into but usually very difficult to get out of. As one columnist put it: Putin may be the main “driver” of the invasion but that does not mean that he will “master” it. Let’s hope that is the case. The Ukrainians are fighting back.

Aside from imposing sanctions against Putin and his regime–NATO, the European Union and the United States must now commit military resources to counter his next move. History shows that dictators are never satisfied and Putin will want more. What will be his next move? We must be ready for it.

The question that my friend asked at breakfast is not easy for an American to answer since we have never been invaded by a foreign power. As I saw videos of clogged highways of people trying to flee Kiev (Kyiv,) it reminded me a bit of people leaving Florida for points north and west when a hurricane is coming–though in the case of Ukraine, many of the refugees of this Russian military “hurricane” may not be going home again soon.

For me, this awful invasion reminded me of the beginnings of World War II. It was disconcerting and depressing. There is a dark side to human kind, and it has again reared its ugly head. In the words of President Roosevelt voiced after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor: the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia will go down in history as a “day of infamy.”

World order, if it is to be put back together, will fall to the few democratic nations who have the military strength and resolve to defend it.

Just as with every world calamity, cries have gone out of “where is the international community?” The truth of the matter is that the so-called “international community” as an organized fighting force that can quickly put “boots on the ground” really doesn’t much exist. World order, if it is to be put back together, will fall to the few democratic nations who have the military strength and resolve to defend it. The leadership of the United States of America will, as in the past, be needed to stop this current blight of dictatorship and aggression.

Freedom and democracy are not something we can take for granted. We have to be willing to fight to keep them. The clock of history has been turned back, and a new generation of Americans now has the burden of maintaining peace in a fractured world.

Rolland Kidder

 

 

                                                 Jametown Post-Journal

        How History Repeats Itself

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

FEB 19, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDEr

A good friend of mine related a story from one of his history classes in college. In a question directed to him the professor asked: “What is history?” My friend was silent, somewhat dumbfounded and didn’t know how to respond. “Well,” said the professor, “it’s just one damn thing happening after another!”

It seems to me that this college teacher had a pretty good grasp on describing what “history” is. Another matter of note about history is that human beings tend not to change much and so what has happened in the past is likely to happen again in the future.

It should really be no surprise that Vladimir Putin wants to invade Ukraine. Strong men, autocrats, dictators–have always liked to invade other countries. Think of Hitler, Stalin or Tojo during World War II. It didn’t matter whether it was Poland, Finland or China–invading and taking over someone else’s territory is part of what being a dictator is all about.

Why do autocrats think this way? Probably because of the truth that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It could also be because, in their view, being strong means that you can push other people around. And, that idea probably stems from the sinful side of human nature which posits that some people are superior to other people–the opposite of the Golden Rule which says “we should treat our neighbors as ourselves.”

Another lesson from history is that, often, other nations are unwilling or ill-prepared to stand up to such aggression. Think here of Neville Chamberlain’s attempt to mollify Hitler by allowing him to take over Czechoslovakia in 1939. Part of Chamberlain’s motivation was that he knew that Britain and the West were not prepared at the time to stop Hitler.

Bringing all of this back to our current crisis with Vladimir Putin threatening to invade Ukraine–old lessons from history still seem to ring true today. We and the democratic nations of the West are not prepared militarily to stop Putin. The United States today only has a volunteer Army which is over-committed and undermanned. The same could be said of NATO and our other Western alliances. The hope is that the threat of sanctions and isolating Russia from the rest of the world will be enough of a deterrent to stop Putin. Will it?

The last time we came this close to having a war with Russia was with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. War seemed imminent then, but the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, finally realized that going to war with the United States would be disastrous–and he backed off. Will Putin back off?

Let’s hope that he does. If he doesn’t, is the United States ready to impose a sea and air embargo on everything going in and out of Russia? Are we willing to mobilize our population and reinstate the draft in order to carry on a war?

The historical “repeat” we are all hoping for is that diplomacy can work to save Ukraine, rather than having its failure lead to war. If Putin invades Ukraine, will China be emboldened to invade Taiwan? History is unpredictable. The whole crisis reminds us again that we still live in a very fractured world.

Gerrymandering is Alive and Well

Elbridge Gerry, one of our lesser-known founding fathers, signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation but refused to sign the original Constitution because it didn’t contain a Bill of Rights. Later, he helped author the Bill of Rights Amendments which became a part of our Constitution. In other words, Elbridge Gerry was a man who stood for principle.

However, what Gerry is most known for today (other than the Town of Gerry which is named after him) is his involvement in drawing a legislative district in the shape of a salamander while Governor of Massachusetts in order to protect his own political party. Thus, alas, he has gone down in American history as the author and originator of “gerrymandering.”

Gerrymandering is the process, now well-perfected across all the States in our Union, where the parties in power draw election districts to benefit themselves. It has recently happened throughout the Republican-controlled South, including Texas and Alabama, and the Democrats just did it in New York. Welcome to “Politics 101” in America!

When I was in Albany, the Republican Party controlled the state Senate. So, when redistricting was passed, Republicans always drew districts giving themselves the best chance at retaining a majority in the state Senate. Now, that they are in the minority, they are screaming that the Democrats are doing the same thing. It is hard to feel sorry for them–though saying that is not meant to justify the process of gerrymandering.

This year, a special bipartisan commission, created to recommend new districts in New York, couldn’t agree on the maps for redistricting and so it submitted two sets of maps to the legislature– which were then voted down overwhelmingly by legislators from both political parties. When those maps were rejected, by law, the job of redistricting went back to the state legislature.

Last week, the legislature acted, passed and the governor signed into law new state and federal election district lines and–guess what? The districts favor the party in power in New York–the Democrats.

However, what it did for us in the Southern Tier, is create a district in which no Democrat really has a chance of winning. The new Southern Tier Congressional District will now stretch from the shores of Lake Erie almost to Utica–a distance of 250 miles. Not only that, but the leading candidate for the Republicans doesn’t even live in the District. She resides near Oneida Lake and currently represents a Congressional District up in that area of the State. Her name is Claudia Tenney.

 

Tenney, has announced that if the new Congressional District lines (now subject to a Republican lawsuit) remain the same–that she will run and, if elected, move into the new Southern Tier District. She is probably unstoppable, since she already has raised over $1 million dollars for her re-election which she can spend in whatever District she decides to run in.

This new Congressional District may not look like a “salamander,” but it certainly deserves all the aspersion associated with the term “gerrymandering.”  

This new Congressional District we are in may not look like a “salamander,” but it certainly deserves all of the aspersion associated with the term “gerrymandering.” Especially, if you are Democrat living here–forget about it. The chances of electing a Democrat in this new Southern Tier District are slim to none.


Rolland Kidder

 

The Luck of the Draw

 “Luck” is still one of the ingredients of life.  It helped a couple of times when I “dodged a bullet” in Vietnam.  I have also attributed it to some of the good fortune I have had along the road of life.  Hard work, diligence, skill, determination—they all are important and necessary.  But sometimes you also need “luck.”

 At the end of what may have been the most exciting football game I have ever witnessed—bad luck is what largely resulted in the Bill’s loss to the Chiefs in the recent NFL play-offs.  There were a lot of “Monday morning quarterback” comments on what the Bills could or should have done differently, but the biggest difference was that, at the end of regulation time, Josh Allen called “tails” instead of “heads” on the coin toss to determine the first possession in overtime.  Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes got the ball—and the rest is history.

 Had Allen called “heads,” the way the Buffalo Bills offense was playing— I think they would have gone down the field and won the game.

 It was that kind of game.  At the end, it didn’t seem like the defenses for either team were even on the field.  Allen took the Bills down the field with only about two minutes left in regulation time to score a touchdown and take the lead.   Mahomes took the Chief’s down the field with only 13 seconds left and scored a field goal to tie the game.  Tell me, have you ever seen anything like this in your life?!

 It has been interesting for me to see how “existential” Bills’ football has become in our family.  Part of it is due to the fact that we choose one Bills home game each year as a gathering spot for a family get-together.  Part of it may also be due to the fact that here in the “back-water” of Western New York, in the fall and winter—we need the stimulation of watching the Buffalo Bills.  And “boy!” have they been fun to watch this year!

 In retrospect, I don’t think—maybe until now—we have ever realized how tough it was for those Bills in the 1990’s to make four trips to the Super Bowl.   To play through a grueling season of 16 or 17 games and claw your way to the top of a division, then conference title, and then to finally get to the Super Bowl… is an almost insurmountable task. 

 During one of those Super Bowl runs, Jim Kelly related that Coach Marv Levy (a World War II veteran) once posed the question to the team in the locker room during an away game— “Do you know why Hitler lost World War II?”   Dumbfounded, the players looked at each other, then Levy gave the answer— “Because he couldn’t win on the road!”  The team left the locker room, went out on the field and won that game.

 It is hard to win “on the road,” and it was sad to see the Bills lose to the Chiefs. But I don’t think the Bills lost any fans that night.  Next year is coming and “hope springs eternal from the human breast.”  Maybe next time, the play-off game will be in our stadium, the coin toss will go our way and we will win—the“luck of the draw!”

The Obligation of Civility in our Political Discourse

Some years ago, our then Congressman, Amo Houghton, was honored in Washington, D.C. for being the epitome of civility in politics. It came not long after Congress had descended into acrimony following the ascension of Newt Gingrich to the Speaker’s chair after a brutal “take no prisoners” campaign he had waged to attain that office.

Amo knew that Democrats were no more evil than Republicans, and that once you started defining your political opponents as bad people — there could be no possibility for civil public discourse. You can have political differences without demonizing your opponent.

Recently, I read an article of how the polarization and “demonizing” process has split the community of Enid, Oklahoma. The issue this time was vaccination. Anti-vaxxers in that community, attacked the public health system and argued that those urging vaccination were hostile, despicable people associated with “metropolitan elites” who were trying to enforce their way of life on small-town, rural America. It is hard to bridge differences when public health concerns descend into political controversy and name-calling.

One form of incivility in public discourse in our own community that I have observed are signs on lawns using a four-letter word to describe our current President. To me, such words should have no place in principled discourse. They are not just gross, but are obviously also being read by our children who are riding buses on their way to school. What conclusions do our kids draw from this? Is public profanity now acceptable in the community? Do we want this kind of profanity to be taught in our schools? Maybe it is time to act as a community to remove these signs.

Though some of our local governments have ordinances limiting political signs to a certain number of days before an election, I have no problem with people who have already put up a sign or are flying a flag for those they want to see elected in 2024. If you want to fly a flag for your favorite politician or the Buffalo Bills — it is all right with me. Just don’t get sucked into the mud of using four letter words in so doing to describe those you hate. That is not the American way or, in my view, the Christian way.

"We don’t teach our kids to write hate signs using four-letter words in school. Why should we allow such signs in our community?"

Let’s go back to the schools for a minute. I have been pleased to see some of my grandchildren getting involved in student government at school. It is a wonderful process of introducing them to civic engagement and the need to work together on common problems. We don’t teach them to write hate signs using four-letter words at school. Why should we allow such signs in our community?

We have always had political differences in America — that is part of our political DNA. But, that has not meant that we need to demonize or down-grade those on the other side of the political aisle. You are not a bad person because you have differing political views from mine — we just disagree on some things. We take those differences to the ballot box on election day and once the results are announced, we move on and accept the results until the next election. That is the American way.

Civility in our public discourse is not an option, it is an obligation. We need to do a better job as adults in setting an example for our kids.


Rolland Kidder

Remembering the Simpler Times of Fourth Grade

I think that the older you get, the more you remember old times. For some reason, maybe because I see my grandkids going off to school every day–I started thinking of good memories from when I was in fourth grade in a one-room school house.

The school was called “Busti #7,” and it was located on Garfield Road. We had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Kronmiller, and she taught all four grades.

As a fourth-grader, I was actually in the “senior” class–since, the following year, I would be transferring into the big City of Jamestown school system for fifth grade and beyond.

Every morning and afternoon in that small school house, we would have a 15 or 20 minute recess and, on good weather days, Mrs. Kronmiller would let us play outside.

Boys being boys, we often played a game called “Cowboys and Indians.” This was back in the days of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry in the movies. On Saturdays, before television, we would go downtown to watch westerns at the matinee at Shea’s or the Palace theater.

What we would do in the game was divide a group of boys into two opposing camps, hide in the bushes, then on a signal attack each other. It wasn’t a physical attack. (Mrs. Kronmiller wouldn’t permit that.) But, we would point our fingers as guns, or draw our arms like we had a bow, and then run around making a lot of noise–finally pretending to be hit–we would fall to the ground.

When that happened, what came next was the best part of the game. We each had a favorite “nurse” who would come to our aid, wipe our brow, console us–and then the game would end.

I have never forgotten my favorite nurse. Her name was Elaine. She was in second grade and she was beautiful. The girls were a part of the game and were always there at the end. After the recess was over, we would go back inside for more instruction–but on those days, the highlight I remember most was being nursed back to health by Elaine in a make-believe game of “Cowboys and Indians.”

I would imagine that such games wouldn’t be allowed today. The name itself seems out-of-place and would probably be deemed to be politically incorrect.

"To all the girls I’ve Ioved before, who traveled in and out my door. I’m glad they came along..."   - Willie Nelson

 

But, it was my first awakening to the significance of girls. It felt good liking and being liked by them.

Which brings me to one of the all-time great songs by Willie Nelson. What started in fourth grade is still true today. Though I have been happily married for nearly 50 years, I still sometimes hum that melody: “To all the girls I’ve Ioved before, who traveled in and out my door. I’m glad they came along, I dedicate this song…to all the girls I’ve loved before.” Elaine was probably my first love.

Some things in life never change. That memory from the fourth grade is still with me.

Rolly Kidder

Jamestown Post-Journal

Political Differences As American As Apple Pie

LOCAL COMMENTARIES

JAN 1, 2022

ROLLAND KIDDER

 

Back in 1964, when the Republicans ran Barry Goldwater for President, the Chad Mitchell Trio came out with a song describing (somewhat cryptically) the Republican Party. Here are a few of the lyrics:

[Let’s go] back to the silver standard and solid Goldwater…

Let’s go back to the days when men were men

and start the First World War all over again

[Let’s go] back to when the poor were poor, and rich were rich

and you felt so damn secure just knowin’ which were which!

Okay, it was a bit “over-the-top” but, nevertheless, it highlighted the fact that, at the national level, the Republican Party was not the Party of change. The themes of: “Let’s keep things the way they are, or, even better, ‘go back’ to who we used to be”–were as Republican then as they are now. It is the Democratic Party, at least since FDR and the Great Depression, that has been the party of change in Washington.

Case in point, the recent one-house passage, with no Republican support, of the Biden “Build Back Better” legislation. Though not given a large mandate in the last election and, though in control of Congress by only the “skin of their teeth,” Democrats pushed this through the House of Representatives. It should have been no surprise that a fellow Democrat, Joe Manchin, Senator from a conservative state like West Virginia, would have problems with the bill–but they passed it anyway in the House.

The politics going on here should not surprise anyone. ” Radical ideas” like Social Security and Medicare (financial assistance and health care for the elderly) were Democratic initiatives. There were outcries at the time that such programs would bankrupt the country and drive us into socialism. Though, in those days, there were some Republican votes for these programs–it was the Democratic Party that proposed and largely provided the bulk of “yes” votes to make them law.

Yet, Republicans have correctly assessed the reality that the electorate in our country is generally conservative in its thinking, and when people want change, it takes place incrementally and very slowly. Harry Truman in the 1950’s and Ted Kennedy in the 1980’s couldn’t make headway with healthcare legislation. It wasn’t until 30 years later, under Barack Obama, that the matter really got addressed in any meaningful way. Today, as “Obamacare” has become more accepted in the country, you see (as with Social Security and Medicare) fewer Republicans attacking it.

Another reality is that every time the Democrats push for social change, they usually suffer for it in the next election…and so this doesn’t portend well for them in the 2022 elections. I would expect that the coming year will be a good one for Republicans.

I will say this though for Democrats, when they try to create new programs, they at least are honest enough to include revenue and tax measures to help pay for it, as reflected in this most recent bill where they proposed raising taxes on billionaires and corporations. Republican reaction to all of this has been to again “bang the drum” that Democrats are the “tax and spend” Party. Democrats counter that Republicans have become the “borrow and spend” Party.

Though they still maintain the political “high ground” of being resistant to change, when it comes to spending money–Republicans have shown that they are as good at that as Democrats. And, who was the last President to have a balanced budget? That was Bill Clinton. His political affiliation? Let’s not get into that.

Differing views on politics remain as American as apple pie. To everyone, no matter what your political persuasion–thanks for reading these articles and have a Happy New Year!