Dear Parents, I remember my father. A few weeks before the election of 1960 he talked to me about his disillusionment with the political system. You see, he was an Irish Catholic. I was eighteen or nineteen at the time, and he told me about the 1928 failure of Al Smith to win the presidency. He assured me that John Kennedy could not win the election because he was what he was. Now, my dad was no Kennedy Democrat because he had voted for Eisenhower, but the pride in the possibility of someone with a like background becoming president was important to him. My dad talked to me about politics since I can first remember presidential elections, which would have been in 1952. He talked to me about his inability to understand Stevenson and, therefore, his vote for Ike. He showed me where he voted and told me that some day I would vote. He talked to me about his refusal to vote in the primary elections because he hated the thought of having to declare party affiliation. In November of 1960 he woke up to something he thought would never happen. I do not think I had ever seen dad so happy or indeed amazed at the power of the system to change. His smile that November morning was very animated, and I can remember to this day his words. "Anything is possible in America". Since that day I have believed. Moharimet will be having a mock election on November 4. The children will be using the Madbury Town Hall voting apparatus. One of the scariest things to think of is the boredom and disillusion that seems to have invaded the political landscape. We must not let the cynicism permeate our children. Take some time in the next week to talk with your children about how very important this time frame is. Show them where you vote. Take them with you if it is possible. Finally, no matter what your personal affiliation let them know that after November 5, 1996 the people will have decided who our president is and that the decision should, and will be, accepted by most. Some of the children will understand all, others will understand little, but we will have done our job to help them build a framework of understanding for their future. We must have an informed educated electorate if our form of democracy is to thrive. Sincerely, Dennis Harrington, Principal
Anything is Possible in America
MOH News Staff Kathi DiSesa 868-5320 Jean Marquis 659-2054 Lorraine Murphy 868-1809 Claire Powell 868-1545 Kim Cohen

Last update on 29-Mar-99 at 10:38 PM.

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