Resistance Radio
My Thoughts On The Election And Civic Duty
WE SHALL PAY ANY PRICE, BEAR ANY BURDEN, MEET ANY HARDSHIP, SUPPORT ANY FRIEND, OPPOSE ANY FOE TO ASSURE THE SURVIVAL OF LIBERTY. - John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961
A 2.5 inch round bronze medallion with John F. Kennedy’s bust in profile sits on a shelf overlooking my workspace. It was my wife’s, and she asked me to see what it was worth some weeks ago. We are in a financial bind primarily caused by my attempt to follow my dream of becoming a writer after early retirement by my previous employer, just prior to the pandemic. Five years later, I sit with an edited manuscript of my first novel in need of a rewrite, several short stories, and a bank account nearly empty.
So, I took the medallion and looked it up online to see what it was worth; anywhere from $14 to $45 asking price. Not likely to get even that much in practice. How much would the bronze be as scrap? About a dollar and sixty cents. Either way, I said to myself; it isn’t worth the effort to sell or scrap. It wasn’t going to change my life, so I put it back in the box and set it aside. And there it sat, under an old plastic 35mm film canister full of Mexican and English coins my wife and I collected on our previous journeys - also worth nothing - in our previous lives before marriage.
Then the election came and went. My daughter voted for the first time, getting a standing ovation from the poll workers and voters in line, and a special “First Time Voter” sticker to go with her “I Voted” 2024 Presidential Election sticker. We had a nice lunch to celebrate. We did our civic duty. We also did more than that: we donated to state and local candidates, what we could. We talked to friends and family, and encouraged everyone to vote. This was a familiar pattern for us.
During the 2020 primaries, besides giving a portion of our dwindling retirement fund, we phone banked for Bernie Sanders and other local candidates. This culminated in the Nevada climax and the Neoliberals once again consolidating power inside the big tent. We followed the lead of those we respected, got behind the Biden run, giving our time and treasure, and thankfully we saw the end of the tyranny that was the Donald Trump presidential administration. Biden’s administration was surprisingly productive given the hurdles they had to cross to get anything done.
The 2024 Presidential Election had a different outcome than many of us had hoped and worked for. It was inexplicable given what we thought we knew. In the days following the election, I pondered the meaning of this overwhelming blowout. I turned off social media. I busied myself by cleaning my office, trying to find order in anything I could to still the thoughts racing through my head. Then I came to the box with the old plastic 35mm film canister sitting on my desk. I put the coins from the film canister in my money jar/piggy bank and then picked up the box.
It had a blue top with the seal of the “Treasury - Bureau of The Mint” emblazoned on a shield in the center. Turning it over, I saw some cryptic codes stamped in black ink, and the date: “Jun 2, 1976” written in pencil; no doubt the date she or her parents acquired it. I opened the box, and there was a paper insert that opened to reveal the details of who created the engraving for the medallion, and then a summarization of the life of John F. Kennedy, including his presidential administration and death. Below that was the medal, sealed in a plastic bag. My razor knife made quick work of opening it.
Breathing air for the first time since leaving the mint, the bust of John F. Kennedy facing left greeted me, looking resolute yet friendly. The engraving of his name arced over his head. The metal was nearly pristine, as shiny as bronze can be. I flipped the medal over and read the inscription on the back side. The cadence of the words was like a group of people marching forward. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Those words - the words at the top of this page - made me realise that whatever troubles I had were minor compared to the troubles we would all have if we abandoned our country in its time of need.
I pulled up the recording of this speech online, and listened and watched this man speak to me across time and space, standing on the very spot where 59 years 351 days later an insurrectionist mob would storm the Capital, in a failed attempt to steal the 2020 election. His words were positive and uplifting. The section inscribed on the medallion is near the beginning of his speech, but more famously near the end of the speech he entreats us to “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” As powerful as those words were, I think I really needed to hear the words engraved on his medal.
My father- and father-in-law died in 2021. They both saw the insurrection and the eventual transfer of power. Both of these important men in my life respected John F. Kennedy immensely, and both were Democrats and union men. Both served in the military. My father once repaired the hydraulic system on the President’s plane - the first Air Force One, a Lockheed C-121 that transported President Eisenhower during the Korean War. Once awakened from a deep sleep in the barracks by an insane airman firing a rifle, he disarmed him face to face as dad was the last target left in the room by the time he was fully awake. He became a printer and 44 year member of the International Typographical Union; ending his career working for the US Government Printing Office. My father-in-law was in the Navy, and while he had an interest in electronics, he was a cook on account of him being a Mexican-American. After he got out, he worked his way through college, got a mathematics degree, and ended up building and programming avionics on Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft as a civilian member of the Department of Defense. Their lives were testaments to service.
They never gave up on themselves, or on America. I, like them, also raised my hand and recited the oath to protect and defend the Constitution, serving 12 years of service in both the US Air Force and the Army National Guard. The words on that medallion drew me back to my oath, and to my belief in this first modern democracy in history.
In the wake of this election, it is plain that giving money, and talking to individual people isn’t enough. Getting a passport and leaving the country is unthinkable. Several things became clear over the course of the election: the “Fourth Estate” - Corporate media - failed us by sane-washing and equivocating for Trump. Meanwhile, the media held Harris to a higher standard. This sent the message to anyone listening that what he was saying was reasonable, which it was not. Corporate media also failed us by failing to endorse candidates by order of their rich corporate owners, and against the recommendations of their chief editors.
Secondly, we are absolutely correct to see the rich billionaires and the corporations they control as our enemy. Most of these people, as we have seen throughout history, put themselves and their own self interests above that of the nation. Worse, they see themselves and their peers as some kind of brain trust that is not borne out when they stray outside of their core competency. These people think they know what is best for us all, and control the corporate media to frame reality for the vast majority of people.
Finally, the real elephant in the room is the lingering ghost of the Civil War. Rather than ensuring the evil of white supremacy and slavery was stamped out after the Civil War, the control of Congress by Southern Democrats and the pullout of Federal troops in 1877 lead to a reemergence of racism through Jim Crow laws, that only kicked the can down the road. This election result proves we are still grappling with these demons of bigotry and xenophobia - including fear and hatred of women. Add to this a Cristofascist death cult, and you have the makings of a disaster.
So I believe a key part of fighting this is for Democrats to build a bigger megaphone, to get our voices heard by more Americans between now and the next election. We must build an independent media that can be the real free press and actual 4th estate. To that end, I am creating “Resistance Radio” - a podcast and news service to create a counterbalance to the hyperbole and equivocation that does not serve citizen’s civic needs. We need to build a community that has a common understanding of reality of what affects them, how, and why. Please go to https://youtube.com/@blueteamradio to subscribe - and I will copy these videos into podcast form for listening. If you prefer reading, I will post stories here, and on Medium. Please help me build this community.
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