Dear Readers,
When you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? Until that age, I vacillated between becoming a ballerina and a Nun.
Mom gave us kids an old bath towel to play with and when I could wrestle it away from my brother Kevin (who used it as his Superman cape), I fashioned for myself either a tutu in which to pirouette around the living room or a beautiful veil like the ones our Dominican Nuns wore every Sunday at Mass.
But when I turned five, something happened to change my plans!
At the time, we were living in the small town of Bradley, Ill., a town so small that nothing important ever happened there; no one important ever visited there. But one sunny summer morning, we walked a half mile or so up to where crowds of people were lining the two-lane highway.
Dad hoisted me up on his shoulders for a better view and instructed me to watch carefully as THE President of the United States would soon be passing by. Even now, I can picture President Eisenhour quite clearly as he sat atop the back seat of a long white convertible smiling and waving. I felt sure he looked directly at me.
That was all it took.
My parents read me library books about the presidents and I learned as much as I could so that one day, I too could be President of the United States. My kindergarten teacher gave me coloring books featuring different presidents and February became my favorite month of the year because Valentine’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, and Lincoln’s Birthday all fell within the same wonderful week!
Over the years, however, the more I read and the longer I lived, I began to waver a bit in my admiration, not for the POTUS office itself, but for the flawed human beings who held it. Still, I was determined, and I had a plan.
In college I majored in political science, and, to gain experience, in 1976, I worked in one of the presidential campaigns; I still have the large red, white, and blue metal pin I wore when canvassing dorm-to-dorm, and in recent years, during presidential elections in which I’ve been greatly disappointed in both candidates, I dig it out and wear it.
My first job out of college was with the federal government in the Department of Health and Human Services.
It was there that my passion for politics began to cool and my interest in and enthusiasm for writing and education began to grow.
I never did become President of the United States.
Did you, dear readers, end up becoming what you wanted to be when you were five?
And now, once again, it’s February, although February is no longer my favorite month of the year. Perhaps the weather has something to do with it, plus none of my friends give me Snoopy or Hello Kitty valentines anymore.
Long gone are those two separate Lincoln and Washington holidays; they’ve been replaced by the generic “Presidents’ Day.”
And in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s an election year and February marks the beginning of the primary season; we’ll be voting for president in November.
This brings me to the point of my letter, sorry it took so long to get here!
A few weeks ago, the first reading at Mass was from the eighth chapter of Samuel in which the elders of Israel went to Samuel and demanded he appoint a leader for them, a king. Other nations had a POTUS so they wanted one too. Samuel resisted and reminded them that God alone should be their leader; he warned them (and I’m paraphrasing here) that an earthly king would draft their sons into armies and tax their income and possessions while using his power and authority for his own good rather than for the good of the people he is supposed to serve. God relented and told Samuel to give the people what they wanted, so Samuel gave them Saul, and look how that turned out.
So, maybe it’s okay I did not grow up to become President of the United States.
Even with the “checks and balances” built into our constitution, it might not be in our best interest to give so much power to one individual. And yet, compared to all the other governments in all the world, is there a better alternative?
It’s important for us to be educated voters in the April primary and the November general election, but when we go to the polls, let’s remember what Samuel said and always look to our divine “President” to guide us as we make choices in our politics as well as choices in every aspect of our everyday lives.
P.S. Although Kevin did not grow up to be Superman, he did grow up to be one super guy anyway.
Linda Kelly is a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Madison.