Actions - Not Just Words

I have been home bound, first due to COVID-19 and then to a back operation leaving me with not much energy to do much more than answer occasional emails and listen to the news. I have been hearing lots of words about how best to respond to COVID-19 (frequent hand washing, wearing a mask in public, and practicing physical distance); such practical advice is easy to implement and I have been doing so although on my rare trips out, I notice that many others are not – the hospital and doctor’s office are notable exceptions where everyone is following those best practices. 

I also am hearing a lot about how best to respond to the murder of George Floyd and other abuses by police in recent times including pushing a 75 year old white man to the ground leaving him in critical condition. Since I turn 75 next month, I identify with that old man. The police initially said the old man simply tripped. My lying eyes watching the video tell me otherwise. Then I try to imagine being choked for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Cold-blooded murder when I watch that one. As I am out of shape, I might last 2 minutes and 46 seconds at most. 

Then I think about this country I once swore to defend as an officer in the Air Force. What was I defending? The right of the President to lie on a daily – or hourly – basis. Is that the right of free speech I was defending? The right of the Senate to confirm someone who assaulted women to the Supreme Court? I cannot remember when I voted for a Senator who was elected. And I certainly did not vote for anyone who confirmed an attorney general who is behaving as the President’s Himmler. I did vote twice for a person running for the Presidency who got the most votes but was not elected. So, I have been reflecting about things that I have seen develop over the years. Well, my remarks may seem partisan, so I should add that a Republican Representative (Howard Baker) nominated me to become a cadet at the Air  Force Academy and a Democratic Senator (Albert Gore Sr.) initiated an investigation that led to my honorable discharge from the Air Force. Over the years I have mostly voted for Democrats although I have voted for a Republican and an Independent. I think of myself as a principled citizen, although others think of me as a foolish old man. Go with the majority.

I think there are three laws that would solve many of the problems we have experienced in this fractured democracy. Number one is to change the way we elect the President and Vice President so for that most important election it is simply one person, one vote – no electoral college – and the one with the most votes wins. If more than two are running, then the winner must have more than 50% of the votes, which might require a run-off election. Second, make a law that encourages early voting and voting by mail so that many more people have easy access to this most important right of citizenship. Third, thinking about healthcare and the virus that has killed more than 100,000 Americans with a significant majority being persons of color and persons of advanced age (like me), this nation should commit to universal medical coverage similar to what members of Congress or what retired members of the military or civil service  have or to what postal workers have. Medical care should be provided for all just as primary and secondary education are provided to all at no cost to citizens (e.g., funded by taxes).

I have many other changes I would like to see enacted in law. Those three changes strike me as fundamental, and they address the current crises confronting our fragile democracy. Moreover, each and every citizen would benefit from those three changes, unlike the tax breaks given to corporations and the wealthy. 

Mike Spector (June 6, 2020)