Hedge School with great aunt Mary

[H2O Man]

“Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw

In the late 1800s, at a time of harsh conflicts between the owners of railroads and workers, my great aunt Mary was among the charter members of the national Order of the Railroad Telegraphers Union. Why do I mention that, someone somewhere may be asking? Well, for three reasons I shall explain, if you are patient. Keep in mind that Mary came here from Ireland due to the Great Starvation years before my grandfather, who arrived in 1879.

One of the reasons that WASP society feared and hated the Irish immigrants was because in traditional Irish culture, the status of women and men was equal, though not exact. Hence, for example, the railroad owners despised having to debate/argue with Mary. My grandfather's last living cousin, then in his 90s, told me that his Aunt Mary was the most intelligent human being he ever knew, so much so that she would have been president had this country knew what was good for it.

Mary's favorite political person was Leland Olds, despite the fact that he had been a minister though not of the One True Faith, as well as a faculty member at Amherst. A quick story: when it recently went up for sale, my son asked me what number the house that my grandfather moved his family to in 1932. I explained that at that time the house was one of only three on the 8.5 mile dirt road, hence it never had a number. At the time, there was no electricity or running water on the 400-acre farm. That is, until NYS Governor FDR appointed him to head the power authority. Mary considered both Olds and FDR to be saints, despite their not being Irish Catholics, since the Lord works in strange ways sometimes.

Now, for those of you who did not grow up having great aunt Mary's political philosophy drilled into your head, Olds would serve under President FDR, too. He was a great advocate for the railroad unions, among other things. At the time, the opposition called him a communist, although today he would be a democratic socialist much like Bernie Sanders. He would serve in FDR's first two terms, but was undercut in an effort lead by his one-time friend Senator LBJ for the third term, due to fear of being associated with a commie.

Now, for my final point. This is one I made on this very forum in 2004, using Mary's definition of “liberal” and “progressive.” By gosh, I heard these so many times as a youth! Liberals, Mary said, wanted to fine-tune the system to create fairness for all, while progressives wanted to strip it down an re-build the system. Back then, a person who I later became friends with was sorely offended by my saying this, and documented his beliefs that were the opposite. Like I have ever given a tiddler's fuck about definitions other than great aunt Mary's! I wish she had been alive to twist his ear. However, after becoming friends, I became convinced the Lord would forgive his sin.

Wouldn't it be something if at this late date, there was a hub-bub about Democratic Socialists? Like if a few of them won primaries, or had won an office in one of the two houses of Congress? I mean, we can anticipate that the other party would attempt to use it as a scare tactic, sure to cause fear and hatred among the most ignorant of maga cult members – especially those under the age of 65 who lived through a time when North Vietnam was the very domino threatening the west coast of this nation. I'm not sure that we need to invest any energy in attempting to win their support in upcoming elections, though others may disagree safely, as Mary has long since passed.

Rather, I advocate that we, as Democrats, deal with reality. It's a big country. There are a lot of people here. There are places where a Democratic Socialist can win elections, places where it might be a close call, and places where they cannot win. Likewise, there are places where a liberal Democrat can win elections, places here it would be close, and places where they can not win. This may or may not be confusing for some, depending upon their understanding of the reality in various states and districts.

Yet it is not a valid reason for members of our party to be divided on the stance of candidates for office from our party. Surely, that potential is the wettest of maga wet dreams, and the only chance the maga party has in 2026's mid-terms or the 2028 presidential election. Keep this in mind while strolling along the information highway, which is now paved with those seeking to create divisions. They pop up everywhere these days. As Malcolm X taught, not everyone who tosses worms into the water is a friend of the fish.

There is room for everyone in the Democratic Party. That must include outreach to young adults who are registered as independents and increasingly are not trembling in fear at the thought of socialized medical care and education. They recognize that the American empire has not served the needs and interests of the citizens of our democratic republic.