Politics 101: We won't always agree

I have a response to today's Waynesboro News Virginian in which the editor suggests that GOP infighting is unproductive.

I am a little weary of everyone piling on the "Kumbaya" band wagon. This country was not built by the Founding Fathers holding hands and agreeing to get along to avoid controversy. They fought it out and then stood by the principles they were defending.

So why do some think it is "unproductive" to stand for what you believe in? Have we grown into such a nation of whimps that we are afraid to fight for our principles? Have we become so involved in soccer and shopping and MTV that we cannot take the time to help run our country?

We need to reintroduce civics and American history and hands-on American government in our schools. We need to teach our young people where this country came from and the importance of being involved in government and its process starting at the local level and going right up to the presidency. Many voters only come out to vote in presidential years but, by doing so, they are missing the bulk of governing.

Locally is where the Obamas and Hillarys and George Bushes come from. They can be stopped or encouraged at that point.

If more citizens were involved in the process, there would be less of the good old boy networks in place to groom and advance their chosen ones. There would be more room at the table for newcomers. There would be more opportunities to break into the inner circle of local politics and introduce fresh ideas.

In Augusta County, that political inner circle is made up of all the elected officials as well as the monied people in the community who support them. The inner circle admires newcomers grudgingly ... if you are a keep-quiet worker bee, they welcome you. If you dare to have a vision for the direction of the Party, you are squashed.

That is what is at play now. I will expand more on this after today's trial and tomorrow's hearing at 6th District. There is much going on ... and those who know the least about it are the ones who are saying the most.

I do think it is sad that citizens in the community, volunteers who got involved in the political process because of their principles, are subjected to the public ridicule that comes from some in the local media. At a time when we should be encouraging ordinary, everyday people to be more involved in local government, we are instead pushing them away because of their fear of becoming the next front page news story. The press is intimidating folks from standing up for what they believe in.

In last year's Hanger-Sayre race, the Staunton newspaper editorialized ad nauseum about the volunteers who helped Mr. Sayre, calling them names and demeaning them in a way that was totally beneath a professional newspaper.

May I suggest that the News Virginian and others turn their gaze to the Democrat Party and the viciousness going on there over the presidential race? One northern Virginia Democrat women's group split in two because the Hillary supporters and Obama supporters could not get along anymore. Talk about infighting!