To the editor:
American voters have charted our nation’s destiny in very interesting ways through presidential elections over the past 228 years. How differently would our country have fared without the leadership of Lincoln during the Civil War, of Roosevelt during the Great Depression and World War II, of Kennedy during the missile crisis of 1962, or of George H.W. Bush during the foreign challenges of 1989-91?
Sometimes voters have been rewarded with the inspiration of a Ronald Reagan kick- starting our national pride in the 1980s. At times, we have benefited from the steady hand of a Truman guiding the end game of WWII, from an Eisenhower as we grew to a world power during the 1950s, from a Johnson ushering us from Jim Crow to civil rights, or even from an Obama guiding us to recovery from deep recession.
Arguably, there have been some missteps. How might we have fared with the selection of Gov. James Cox in 1920, who had introduced thoughtful progressive reforms in Ohio, rather than the scandal-prone Warren Harding? Consider how the Vietnam era may have ended, and Watergate been avoided, with an alternate choice in 1968. Or, how different would Iraq policy and the challenges of global terrorism look now had the popular vote winner of 2000 prevailed ?
This election presents challenges that require us to be at our best. For too long we have allowed opinion media to frame each other as adversaries conjured in its swamp of lies, half-truths, and imagined conspiracies. The better picture, instead, may be that of some good citizens who are tempted to vote their frustrations with little thought of consequences — or succumb to the easy lure of apathy — simply needing fellow voters to helpfully have their backs this time. There may come an election day when they can return the favor. I’ll just bet there are some Brexit voters who now regret they did not get such help.
Douglas Smith
Rockingham