When Did the Party Start?

The recent hearings conducted by the House of Representatives brought to light the very essence of our representative form of government. When watching the televised proceedings, two opposing forces were much in evidence as they jawed, insulted, and discredited witnesses as well as each other. With a gleam in their eye they seemed to relish catching someone stumbling over a point or in a perceived lie. It’s enough to make a person throw a shoe at the screen if your inclination is not in agreement with the questions or the answers.

Whether or not a quid pro quo existed regarding Ukraine’s desire for U. S. dollars to buy defensive javelin anti-tank missiles is the question before them. At the least, we’ve learned the meaning of a Latin phrase which translates as “something for something.” I like to say it means “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”

As perturbing as the whole affair seems, it needs to play out because the success of democracy “rests in large part on both the opposition and the government.” I wanted a reminder of how this political party arrangement came about, because after all, it’s been almost 60 years since I studied political science at the university.

The story goes all the way back to the presidency of George Washington who was a shoo-in as the first  U. S. president. Many actually Washington wanted to be king, but he wouldn’t hear of it. How well he read the classics isn’t known by me, but his terms in office parallel a Roman leader named Cincinnatus who left his farm to lead the Roman army and then, victorious, serve briefly as dictator. Shortly after, he relinquished his power and returned to the farm. So it was with Washington who begrudgingly served a second term and refused a third term to return home after two terms of office.

Political parties began developing under him. He soon recognized that this government was too big to run without assistance and surrounded himself with cabinet members he could trust. Alexander Hamilton received the nod as secretary of the treasury and Thomas Jefferson became secretary of state. As it turned out, these two men did not play well together. Hamilton led a group known as Federalists who supported strong federal power while Jefferson with Democratic-Republicans supported states’ rights and limited federal power.

Right there are the seeds for countless disagreements which occurred through the following centuries. Washington understood the need for a stable economy and supported the ideas of Hamilton more so than Jefferson’s. So the battle had been joined.

George Washington couldn’t help but see the fighting going on between the two factions and in his farewell address in 1796 warned that the creation of political factions, “sharpened by the spirit of revenge,” would most certainly lead to continual fighting for the public’s favor. This not unheard of, though. On occasion I’ve run across videos of the British Parliament and the way they sit in rows of benches facing each other and shout and bellow at each other while their speaker bangs his gavel yelling, “Order, order!”   

As I wrote at the outset I needed a refresher about the creation of political parties, and this is what I’ve found. Given all of its rough edges and weaknesses, it is what we have. If there were no opposing political parties fighting it out, one option would give us a dictator wielding favors and squelching dissatisfaction. Pure democracy would be another option, the old one man, one vote concept. Imagine trying to pass legislation under such a system. Our system survives on representative democracy and if we don’t like our representatives, we can just “throw the bums out!”

Visiting Mike

We visited brother Mike today, November 26,  who is in the hospital for an extended stay.

We visited brother Mike today, November 26, who is in the hospital for an extended stay.

Helene's Birthday

Helene Sandvig celebrates something very few of us will ever see, 108 birthdays. And she still enjoys life, walking, visiting, worshiping, living alone...

               

A Triggered Memory

Reading today in my battered copy of Wallace Stegner’s Wolf Willow I found his reminiscence of listening to an old Sunday School hymn where “instantly I am seven or eight years old…” Many things trigger remembrance of things past. When I looked over at my end table where a little 1931 Model A Ford pickup parked I remembered an old man at home who used to drive all over with a pickup that looked just like this. We never know what will trigger the next memory.

Doing It For Fun

A definition of the word “hobby” states that it’s an activity one enjoys doing for fun. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t keep writing these articles. The one hurdle in the process is finding something write about, a minor problem that can sometimes wrinkle the brow. After deciding on a topic, the ideas start to fuse into coherent writing. So it was this day when the mail brought a new Time magazine which featured an article that gave lots of food for thought.

Three big questions facing our society were posed in the article labelled “Put Your Faith in Science.” 1.Are genetically modified crops safe to eat? 2.Why are vaccinations necessary? 3.Is climate change an emergency? Much writing and airplay has appeared regarding each or these and conclusions should have been agreed upon by now. But as the Time article asserts, these questions have been polarizing, they haven’t seen a green light to run into the end zone. 

First of all, if science says it is so, I tend to believe it. Regarding GMO crops, I don’t believe science has given much in the way of warning, but enough concerns exist among some consumers that food companies make a special point of advertising their products using non-GMO grains?  What we now recognize as GMO has been around over twenty years and it will continue to exist since the seed industry has consolidated to the point that only four seed companies control 60% of the market. Furthermore, hasn’t genetic modification existed for centuries with crossbreeding efforts? I’m still at the point of eating most anything, and my waistline shows it.

Why are vaccinations necessary? I can still remember lining up in the early years of elementary school and getting vaccinated. Oh, how we carried on in fear of pain from that needle stick, but it has prevented those serious illnesses for which it was intended. There is pushback among some parents, anti-vaxers, who fear vaccinations cause undue risks. When polio vaccine stopped that cruel disease, it eased my mind because even as a young person it scared me. I continue taking shots, most recently for flu and shingles and am due to get a pneumonia booster. 

Is climate change an emergency? This is a question that uncovers all kinds of “experts.” Here is where I’m in complete agreement with the vast majority of climate scientists – 97 percent, reportedly 11,000 of them –  who agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. That 97% represents thousands of researchers who for the most part applied the step by step scientific method in reaching their conclusions. Do glaciers disappear, waters rise, blizzards deepen, tornadoes increase, hurricanes intensify? It seems to be the case.

If my assessment counts, here is where I stand with these three questions. GMO foods don’t bother me much and won’t until some solid evidence comes forward saying they shouldn’t be eaten. Vaccinations are definitely appropriate and necessary. Climate change is real and a concerted world-wide effort needs to be undertaken to reverse its advancement, or, at the least, slow it.

Maybe naysayers and deniers render a good service because they make those on the other side work harder to prove their findings. There was a time people thought the earth was flat, the sun circled the earth, and coffee stunts your growth. Opposition to established beliefs brings honest answers, which leads to another question. Should opposition political parties question those in power? A democracy demands it, otherwise dictators arise. There’s the topic for next week. 

Honoring Veterans

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” This old quote became reality for us a few days ago when we boarded a tour bus and headed to Branson, Missouri. I don’t like driving long distances anymore and now sitting back in a reasonably comfortable coach seat to ride along has become our preferred mode of travel. We travel with the North Dakota Farmers Union bus which has made it possible for us to visit 49 states. Because of the way the highways work out, we’ve never been in Delaware. That said, we have had some valuable takeaways in our travels.

Twice we’ve traveled to the northeast for the fall foliage tours, but we didn’t just look at colorful leaves. Our driver has taken us to the heart of New York City, Washington, D. C., Boston, and Philadelphia, cities that opened up to us like a history book. Without his expertise at driving, we’d never have gotten into the midst of it all. 

This recent trip to Branson was one of several trips to that entertainment center that we’ve ridden along on. Some of the shows are outstanding and the city stands open and willing to accept tourist dollars pouring in. Branson is a top motor coach destination with about four thousand buses arriving each year.  On this trip we saw many, each one holding 40 to 50 people.

In each nine of the shows we attended, special recognition is always made by the entertainers for the veterans attending. They are asked to rise and be recognized, sometimes playing the song that signifies each branch of the service. This article is being written on Veterans Day, November 11. In World War I the armistice was agreed on by all parties to be observed on this the eleventh month, the eleventh day, and the eleventh hour of 1918. Beginning in 1938, the date became a national holiday.

My maternal grandfather, Andrew Sandvig, came to this country as an immigrant from Norway, and like many, had not yet become a naturalized citizen. That made no difference to a nation looking for men to carry a rifle as we entered the war. In fact and according to a New York Times article, “…nearly a quarter of the draftees in 1918 were immigrants, the result of an influx that had transformed America’s demography into a ‘melting pot’ of lineages.” 

Grandpa soon became a citizen since upon induction he had to swear allegiance to the U. S. and renounce allegiance to King Hakkon of Norway. Like so many veterans in wars, he came back not wanting to talk about what he saw or did. He carried a little government issue New Testament in which he wrote a few comments, enough so that I’ve been able to construct his wartime experience from reading history of his units. It is little wonder that he wanted to forget.

Casualties were high. At the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, 14,246 gravestones mark the burial place of U. S. Army soldiers who died in the battle that ended with the armistice. In one engagement he wrote something which I’ve been able to verify, “we lost half our men.” Service to his adopted country numbered him as one of the the millions who have served. Furthermore, he produced a line of descendants who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. To paraphrase the quote that introduced this piece, his service made him modest, humble, and honorable when he returned home.

Remembering Trains

After seeing an article about railroading the other day, memories of trains started running through my mind.  A branch of the Northern Pacific ran through my hometown, and as a young boy, I still remember the old steam engines rolling through, spewing smoke and steam. Just once more I’d like to see the fireman pouring coals to the boiler and making black smoke so thick you could almost cut it as it rose through the smokestack. I can still hear the steam whistle above the huff of the engine starting out from a stop at the depot. It seemed so soon that diesels replaced them.

The early development of North Dakota can hardly be separated from the building of railroads. Without them, it would have taken a long time to move past the stage of the open range. Issues of my hometown newspaper published in 1885-86 indicate the significance of the railroad in the early days of almost anybody’s town. “The timbers for the new bridge across the Maple River came last week. - Barbed wire is going off so fast that Karl Rudd ordered his second carload this week. - P. Goodman shipped a carload of fine hogs to Fargo yesterday, the first ever from Sheldon. - We notice the McCormick machines still keep coming in by freight and express. - Farmers are beginning to haul home their binding twine. - Two more carloads of lumber for the North Star Elevator arrived here yesterday. - Twenty cars of freight passed west yesterday. - Train loads of emigrants and emigrant movables continue to pass west. - K. Rudd received a carload of splendid looking brick last Thursday.”

The first trains came through Sheldon  in 1882 and were probably pulled by the 4-4-0 locomotives that proved so popular in building the West. In fact Around 25,000 of these locomotives were built by different companies. The number 4-4-0 represents its wheel layout: four drivers in the rear, four leading wheels in front that swiveled to follow curves, and no trailing wheels. As more powerful engines came on the scene such configurations as the Southern Pacific Overland engine’s 4-10-2 came into service.

Cattle were often hauled long distances by trains and when done so they had to be let off for feed and water before reaching their markets. Enderlin had a large stockyards where a full train of cattle cars could be offloaded and bedded down for the night. Many towns on the railroad lines built stockyards where farmers could bring small herds to wait for a train to stop. I still remember the one in Sheldon, a place where the news of the times says hoboes hung out. The city fathers saw fit to tear it down about the time I started remembering such things.

Stories of the West often give the idea that early railroads into the West were built by Chinese laborers. But others came, too, for a paycheck that often went back home with them. The writer of an article published in 1911 did not worry about using an offensive term to identify workers from a foreign country, Italy. “Section foreman John Caine went to Leonard Monday to supervise the laying of new steel rails on the Southwestern. He has a crew of sixty Dagoes under him and it keeps him busy all the time to see that the work is done properly. The new rails are 72  pounders and will be a great improvement over the 56 pound rails that have been in use. They will be laid as far west as LaMoure.” Another item from 1909 states, “A gang of swarthy sons of Italy have been assisting the regular section crew putting in new ties …”

Railroads seem quick to modernize and economize. A little train dubbed “The Galloping Goose” served our town towards the end. I remember riding it one day to Fargo on my way back to the university in Grand Forks. It was the last day it carried passengers, and there was no band playing to greet us when we pulled into the station.

A Long Line of Leaders

My life began in the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States. In an ever-lengthening line of office holders, an additional thirteen men have served the country in what has been called the most powerful job in the world. For those keeping score, the current president counts as number forty-five. 

Except for reading historical accounts, I don’t recall anything of FDR’s administration but do have memories in real time of his successor Harry Truman. A twist of political fate saw Truman chosen as FDR’s running mate in place of the standing vice-president Henry Wallace. In a few months Truman was sworn in as the president. His approval to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 escapes me, but I have seen his written note giving permission to do so. Firing General Douglas MacArthur as commander of U. S. forces in the Korean War created quite a storm, but he weathered it.

“I Like Ike” rang loud and clear as a catchy slogan in 1952. As the Republican nominee, he easily defeated Adlai Stevenson that year and in 1956, too. Previously, this Supreme Allied Commander led forces in the defeat of Germany. During the war he noticed the good highway system built in Germany, and as president successfully promoted our present interstate system.

John F. Kennedy, familiarly known as JFK, entered the office with a victory over Richard Nixon. Nixon had come up against a modern technique he didn’t know about yet: the use of makeup in front of a tv camera. JFK didn’t finish his first term but was assassinated while in Dallas. I will never forget the night he appeared on television warning us about the potential of atomic war with Russia over their placement of missiles in Cuba. The Russians backed off. I associate the Peace Corps and the space program with him.

The thirty-sixth president, best known by his initials LBJ, took office after Kennedy’s assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson, an action-oriented senator, was a frustrated vice-president ignored by the Kennedy administration. Now he successfully promoted civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, increased federal role in education, and more. The Vietnam War brought him down after a strong public outcry against it.

Richard M. Nixon never lost his desire to sit in the oval office and won the presidency in his own right in 1969 and 1972. Along with his sidekick Henry Kissinger Nixon accomplished some items of importance, such as ending the war in Vietnam, opening positive relations with China, and signing the anti-ballistic missile treaty with Russia. Sadly, he is usually remembered for his responsibility in the Watergate break-in and the secret tapes that would probably have implicated him. He resigned after being told he would not survive an impeachment trial.

The faces of successive presidents become clearer the nearer we approach the present day. Gerald Ford assumed the job as Nixon’s vice president but was not re-elected. Jimmy Carter brought two enemies together at the Camp David Accords, but rising energy costs and mounting inflation cleared the way for Reagan’s election. Of note was “the Great Communicator’s” call for bringing down the Berlin Wall. 

The remaining presidents, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, bring us to the present day. Each is known for some good and some not-so-good. The reader might think this list is woefully incomplete, and it is. It is simply the musings of someone who has experienced living in a country where fourteen presidents served during his lifetime. As a high school graduate in 1960, my classmates now contemplate a 60th class reunion. There is so much in the rearview.