ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 





































 
Carol Perkins: We are all on the same team

An election follow-up: How every vote counts, as it did in Judge Gabe Pendleton's victory. A note on President Obama's Wednesday message to the nation. And pens the hope we stay united.
Next earlier Carol Perkins column: Carol Perkins: Metcalfe Countians share grief

By Carol Perkins

I cast my first presidential vote for Lyndon Johnson in 1968. Not that I necessarily wanted him to be president, but I wasn't impressed with Nixon.

In my view from the rural town of Edmonton, Johnson did not have the qualities of Kennedy. Young people are attracted to exuberant personalities and glamor, both of which Kennedy possessed. I knew nothing about or care little for policy. It was only as I grew older that policy became important. I also came to realize that what was told from a stump and what often happened were not the same. (I had studied Propaganda Techniques in Speech l0l.) As a young voter, I thought the President of the United States controlled everything! I paid no attention to the power of the House and Senate-checks and balances.

Since I was eighteen, I have voted. The right to vote and the necessity of voting were ingrained in me. I had always heard that "every vote counted" but didn't think much about it when I was young.



We all know by the recent race between Kathryn Thomas and Gabe Pendleton that a handful of votes made a huge difference. I went to bed thinking Kathryn Thomas was our next judge and woke up to discover that Gabe Pendleton actually won that election by 36 votes. Having interviewed both these qualified people on our radio show, either would have served well. They campaigned hard and missed very few events. The lesson here is "every vote DOES count!"

I stayed with the Presidential results until the wee hours. I had not invested all this time with both candidates not to see it through, plus I didn't have to get up for work the next morning! Both candidates were gracious in their winning and in their losing. I listened to President Obama Wednesday as he spoke about the results and the transition. I think he put it better than I can. "We are all on the same team." He called us to move forward with the "presumption of good faith in fellow citizens." He continued, "Sometimes you lose an argument, sometimes you lose an election. The path this country has taken has never been a straight line. We zig and zag."

As we Zig and Zag through our next four years, let's do it united. Aren't we all sick of name-calling? Divisiveness? I am election tired-exhausted. Worn out with it!

I do hope the media will give our new president a chance. Everyone needs a chance before the gavel of negativity hits the desk. Frankly, I'm glad it is over!

(My new book, A Girl Named Connie, is available at Blossoms Florist and Boutique Unique, 507 Happy Valley Road, Glasgow, KY 42141, Phone 270-629-3597; the Edmonton/Metcalfe Chamber of Commerce, 109 E Stockton Street, Edmonton, KY, Phone 270-432-3222; and the Lighthouse Restaurant, 1500 Sulphur Well/Knob Lick Road, Sulphur Well Historic District, KY 42129. Phone 270-629-3597. And Also on Amazon.com) Carol Perkins, PO Box 134, Edmonton, KY 42129. Phone 670-432-5756


This story was posted on 2016-11-09 14:25:44
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.



 

































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.