Between the Left and the Right

Hey there. I’ve been writing a monthly Coastal Breeze column called Heartbreak and Hope for almost two years now. As a general concept, the approach was to examine things that, on the surface, could be perceived as heartbreaking, but upon further reflection, could offer some hope. I’ve enjoyed doing it, in addition to writing stories about veterans in our community, spotlighting our Farmers’ Market vendors, and other fairly random stories I’ve been asked to cover. 

I’m now fortunate to write a regular opinion column. 

I’ll be doing it at least twice a month, if not more frequently as events warrant it, and I’m calling it “Postcards from the Gulf of America.”   

It’s an appropriate title for what I hope to often explore in the column, namely the gulf that exists in our country between the left and right, what’s good and bad about both sides’ arguments for where the country should be heading, and how we can find some common ground. 

Please allow me to provide some context.  

As some of you may have noted in a previous column, I’m a registered Independent who’s voted in equal measure for both Republicans and Democrats my entire adult life. My philosophy has always been to vote for the person, their character, their plans and ideas, not blindly followa party or ideology. As an example, I voted for Obama in 2008 because his message resonated with me at the time, and I was hopeful for the change he promised to bring. I voted for Romney in 2012 because I felt Obama placed too great an emphasis on healthcare over the economy at a time when we were still reeling from the Great Recession. 

Having said that, here’s the full disclosure. I didn’t vote for Trump last year. I didn’t in 2020. I didn’t in 2016. So, suffice it to say, this isn’t going to be a heavily right-leaning column. 

What that doesn’t mean, however, is that I loved the Democratic alternatives the past three elections or that I hate Trump. Neither is true. And I hope that over time, this column will provide more insight into my own decision-making process when it comes to issues and policies that affect us all. I’ll point out the places where I think Trump is succeeding and the places where Democrats are falling short. 

But it’s not all going to be heavy. I’m hoping to weave in some lighter topics that have nothing to do with politics but rather timely societal and cultural themes. Or just weird stuff I have an opinion about. 

There’s a lot I don’t know about how all this will play out, but there are three things I’m pretty certain about. 

First, not everyone will like what I have to say, and that’s okay. 

As with my voting record, my friends are pretty evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. I’m sure there are some stances I’ll take that will make my Democratic friends bristle and others that will cause Republicans to brand me a flaming liberal. 

The other thing I know for certain is that I’ll do my best to always be thorough, thoughtful, respectful and kind, something that’s sorely missing in much of our dialogue these days. 

And finally, I’ll be the first to admit when I’m wrong. 

Just over a year ago, my wife and I were having cocktails on our lanai with a couple who are good friends of ours from the Midwest who are Republicans. We were having a civil discussion about politics, and he commented that he didn’t agree with Confederate monumentsbeing taken down in southern cities. 

I started by explaining to him that I was raised in the South. I graduated from Washington and Lee University (W&L) in Lexington, Virginia, named in part for General Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate army in the Civil War and ran the school after the war. I attended many speeches and events in the university chapel, where a statue of a recumbent Lee lies on the altar. Lee is buried in a crypt beneath it, his horse Traveller (two LLs) is buried just outside. We named our first boat “Traveller” after Lee’s horse. 

There was and is a very strict honor code at W&L, specifically that students who lied, cheated, or stole would be expelled, a policy strictly enforced by an elected “Executive Committee” of fellow students. Several students were expelled in my four years there for breaking that code.  

All of this is to say that I’m pretty well-versed on the history and traditions of the South and have deep respect for the honor and integrity that Lee embodied and helped instill and institutionalize at W&L. 

So, I felt on solid ground politely informing my friend, in detail, about the “Lost Cause” motivations of the Jim Crow era that were behind the erection of Confederate monuments, in most cases many decades after the war ended, well into the 20th century and in tandem with thousands of lynchings of Blacks across the South. 

He heard me out and said something along the lines, “I actually didn’t know all that. I appreciate you giving me that background.” 

I honestly don’t know if I changed his mind, and to me, it doesn’t matter. That wasn’t my goal in the discussion. It was simply to give him something to ponder. 

And that’s what I hope this column does.