Tuesday, February 28, 2006
ARE DEMOCRATS ANTI AMERICAN, OR JUST ANTI YOUTH?
With the upcoming hearings on President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, questions regarding Judge John Roberts’s character and values will be asked by the Senate. Many of those Senators attended the 2000 Democratic Convention. Perhaps it is not out of line to examine the character and values of those who will be doing the questioning.
I think most Americans have a least some awareness of the media sanitizing news coverage, or presenting news in a slanted way. However, I don’t think the majority of people realize how pervasive this biased coverage is in the mainstream news services. Some of the more militant Democrats are still obsessing over the 2000 election of G W Bush, and the loss of the presidency. I cannot help but wonder if the election coverage in that year would have swung the election even more into the Bush-Cheney camp if the major networks, wire services, and newspapers had reported the opening of the Democratic convention that year. Let me refresh your memory if I may.
All of the news providers gave coverage to the speeches, “spontaneous demonstrations”, interviews and platform discussions which occurred during the 2000 Democratic convention. For almost an entire week, party partisans had a free rein to demonize George Bush, and the Republicans. No matter how outrageous or inaccurate the statement, the main news outlets were there to provide a forum. Despite all of the air time and print space devoted to this convention, not one newspaper, major television network or wire service had any mention of the opening ceremonies for the convention. Ever wonder why? If you watched the opening on C-Span, you know the answer.
The official opening of the 2000 Democratic convention included a flag ceremony, with a Posting of the Colors. This ceremony was conducted by an Honor Guard composed of Eagle Scouts from the Boy Scouts of America. Young men, invited by the event organizers, in full uniform, proudly carrying the flag of the United States. They had every right to expect a respectful acknowledgement of the appearance of their country’s flag on the stage, with an appropriate response from the conventioneers. They had every right to expect that, but that is not what happened. Rather than doffing the sometimes silly headgear often seen at conventions, and having the audience rise to salute this symbol of our nation, the Democratic conventioneers rose to issue a chorus of boos, with accompanying inappropriate hand gestures. Boos, hisses, hastily written inappropriate signs and hateful comments are what greeted these young people. Not by just a few, but by a majority of the attendees in the hall.
To their credit, the Scouts ignored this response, and concluded the ceremony with dignity. Not so the Democrats, who continued their display even after the Scouts left the stage. None of this ever made the mainstream news. While that does not surprise me, it has left me with some questions that I have not been able to satisfactorily answer.
1) Was the response of the convention goers generated by the appearance of the
American flag on the podium? If so, were they just ashamed to be in a room with a
patriotic display, or were they voicing a more deeply held resentment toward the country
itself.
2) Were the boos, obscenities and dismissive gestures aimed at the Scouts
themselves? If so, was the message an anti Boy Scout response, or was
it directed against all young people who choose to lead an ethical life? If
the opening had been conducted by a gangster rap artist, would the reception
have been different?
3) Among all of the dignitaries and prominent Democrats in attendance, why was
there not one word of admonishment to the conventioneers about their behavior?
Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer,
Charley Rangel, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durban, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and all
the other leaders of the Democratic Party were aware of this, yet none spoke in
defense of the Scouts, nor did they chastise the attendees for this display. Neither
were there any editorials about this occurrence on any television network or
in any newspaper.
The silence of both the media and the Democratic luminaries can only lead me to the conclusion that they all agreed with the convention response to the Posting of the Colors. By not condemning these actions, I must come to the belief that it was condoned. So I again ask, are the Democrats and the admittedly liberal media anti American, anti youth, or anti Boy Scout? I believe this is a fair question, based on their actions or lack thereof. I fear that we shall never see a response, and the question will remain unanswered. But I have my answer regarding their character and values. And that’s all I need to know.
Tom Glennon
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
Married for 40 years to Judi, they have five adult children, and three grandsons.
With the upcoming hearings on President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, questions regarding Judge John Roberts’s character and values will be asked by the Senate. Many of those Senators attended the 2000 Democratic Convention. Perhaps it is not out of line to examine the character and values of those who will be doing the questioning.
I think most Americans have a least some awareness of the media sanitizing news coverage, or presenting news in a slanted way. However, I don’t think the majority of people realize how pervasive this biased coverage is in the mainstream news services. Some of the more militant Democrats are still obsessing over the 2000 election of G W Bush, and the loss of the presidency. I cannot help but wonder if the election coverage in that year would have swung the election even more into the Bush-Cheney camp if the major networks, wire services, and newspapers had reported the opening of the Democratic convention that year. Let me refresh your memory if I may.
All of the news providers gave coverage to the speeches, “spontaneous demonstrations”, interviews and platform discussions which occurred during the 2000 Democratic convention. For almost an entire week, party partisans had a free rein to demonize George Bush, and the Republicans. No matter how outrageous or inaccurate the statement, the main news outlets were there to provide a forum. Despite all of the air time and print space devoted to this convention, not one newspaper, major television network or wire service had any mention of the opening ceremonies for the convention. Ever wonder why? If you watched the opening on C-Span, you know the answer.
The official opening of the 2000 Democratic convention included a flag ceremony, with a Posting of the Colors. This ceremony was conducted by an Honor Guard composed of Eagle Scouts from the Boy Scouts of America. Young men, invited by the event organizers, in full uniform, proudly carrying the flag of the United States. They had every right to expect a respectful acknowledgement of the appearance of their country’s flag on the stage, with an appropriate response from the conventioneers. They had every right to expect that, but that is not what happened. Rather than doffing the sometimes silly headgear often seen at conventions, and having the audience rise to salute this symbol of our nation, the Democratic conventioneers rose to issue a chorus of boos, with accompanying inappropriate hand gestures. Boos, hisses, hastily written inappropriate signs and hateful comments are what greeted these young people. Not by just a few, but by a majority of the attendees in the hall.
To their credit, the Scouts ignored this response, and concluded the ceremony with dignity. Not so the Democrats, who continued their display even after the Scouts left the stage. None of this ever made the mainstream news. While that does not surprise me, it has left me with some questions that I have not been able to satisfactorily answer.
1) Was the response of the convention goers generated by the appearance of the
American flag on the podium? If so, were they just ashamed to be in a room with a
patriotic display, or were they voicing a more deeply held resentment toward the country
itself.
2) Were the boos, obscenities and dismissive gestures aimed at the Scouts
themselves? If so, was the message an anti Boy Scout response, or was
it directed against all young people who choose to lead an ethical life? If
the opening had been conducted by a gangster rap artist, would the reception
have been different?
3) Among all of the dignitaries and prominent Democrats in attendance, why was
there not one word of admonishment to the conventioneers about their behavior?
Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer,
Charley Rangel, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durban, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and all
the other leaders of the Democratic Party were aware of this, yet none spoke in
defense of the Scouts, nor did they chastise the attendees for this display. Neither
were there any editorials about this occurrence on any television network or
in any newspaper.
The silence of both the media and the Democratic luminaries can only lead me to the conclusion that they all agreed with the convention response to the Posting of the Colors. By not condemning these actions, I must come to the belief that it was condoned. So I again ask, are the Democrats and the admittedly liberal media anti American, anti youth, or anti Boy Scout? I believe this is a fair question, based on their actions or lack thereof. I fear that we shall never see a response, and the question will remain unanswered. But I have my answer regarding their character and values. And that’s all I need to know.
Tom Glennon
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
Married for 40 years to Judi, they have five adult children, and three grandsons.
Dude, Who Stole My Party?
I have a confession to make. It should be made public now, before Dan Rather and the 60 Minutes Team shows up at my door with documents about my past that, although forged, are still accurate. I admit, now and publicly, that I was a Democrat, for more years than I should have been.
I was born just after World War II ended, so I am in the front line of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation. Growing up Catholic in Chicago, of Irish and German heritage, I was of course brought up to be a Daley Democrat. The most powerful person in my neighborhood wasn’t the Mayor, Governor, or President. Neither was the Alderman, Senator or Congressional Representative. Not even the Parish Priest was the most powerful or influential person to my family and all the others in my near North neighborhood. No, the person most recognized as a person of authority and influence was the ward heeler, our Democratic Precinct Captain.
Have a streetlight out? Need a job for your brother-in-law, so he and your sister can move out of your attic? Garbage pickup missed your house? Local bully picking on your child? Son needs a recommendation to get into a Union Trade School? All of these problems, and more, were within the purview of the Precinct Captain. He had the ‘clout’ (a Chicago word often misused and misunderstood by persons without a Chicago background) to get things done for you. Your only responsibility was to turn out and vote on every Election Day, and be sure to vote correctly.
Actually, there were three political parties in Chicago back in the forties, fifties and early to mid sixties. You could belong to the Conservative Democrats, Moderate or Centrist Democrats, or Liberal Democrats. I don’t think I heard anything about the Republican Party until I entered High School. Local politicking was fun, because there were so many catfights between the three Democratic Parties. However, when it came to election time, the votes went to the Democratic candidate for whatever office was being contested, whether he or she was a Liberal, Moderate or Conservative. Accommodation, compromise and reality checks with the actual voters eventually arrived at platforms and candidates that were acceptable to all views within the Chicago Democratic Party.
I was very comfortable while a Democrat, because I could maintain my liberal inclination on social issues, moderate views on fiscal policies, and conservative views on crime, defense and foreign policy. The Democratic Party of my youth and early adulthood was a three-winged bird, and had diversity in its makeup long before diversity became just another buzzword. But shortly after the mid-sixties, a terrible event occurred that has repercussions that are felt today. Sometime during this period, SOMEONE STOLE MY DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
I don’t know if it was a plot engineered by Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, Ed Muskie and the Massachusetts wing of Liberals Gone Wild; but suddenly, the Democrats became an exclusively Liberal Club with a progressive and secular agenda, rather than a representative Political Party. My own doubts began with the Democratic led opposition to the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. It was Republican support that enabled these important bills to pass. This was followed by the withdrawal of support for American troops by the Democrats in the late sixties. I then began to evaluate the direction the party was going. After involving America in a war in which I lost friends, the Democratic Administration’s lack of a win strategy, and subsequent actions by the Democratic Congress to insure the defeat of South Vietnam while disparaging our military, gave me reason to question the new attitude of the Democratic Party. And this began while a Democrat held the presidency. While Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement certainly had an impact, the change was too rapid for the dramatic shift to the Left to be the result of only those two issues. I’m not sure what other forces drove this turn to the far left, but suddenly, I was disenfranchised from the party in which I was raised. The divorce became final when the Democrats adopted the unrestricted abortion on demand plank in their official platform.
Rapid though this change was, it was not apparent to the media (or at least not reported on) until the unexpected first Reagan election, and his subsequent landslide re-election. The phenomenon of the Reagan Democrat seems to have been a surprise to many, but it shouldn’t have. Not since Lyndon Johnson had there been a Democratic candidate for the Presidency who could balance Liberal, Moderate and Conservative tendencies within the Democratic electorate. The swing to radical liberal stances on all issues had become entrenched by 1980. As I recall, that was when the term “knee jerk liberal” came into vogue. The only successful Democratic candidate for President since 1980 was Bill Clinton, and he rode the moderate or centrist vote, never voicing any opinion that might be considered too liberal. Clinton never took a stand on anything without first checking with focus groups and conducting numerous polls.
Let’s fast forward to 2004. Why are Zell Miller and Ed Koch considered such oddities? That a Democrat would abandon his Party’s Presidential candidate, and support a Conservative Republican (although many Conservatives would say GWB is not a Conservative) should not be a surprise. Like me, Senator Miller and Mayor Koch both came from a Democratic Party that had three wings, so they could work to incorporate the views they held on specific issues, while remaining among the Party faithful. However, like me, Zell and Ed did not abandon the Democrats. The Democrats abandoned us, verbally burning us at the stake for not towing the party line. When the shift to the left became the only acceptable view within the Democratic Party, our own Party disinherited both moderates and conservatives. The most prominent person of the last quarter of a century to travel this route was President Reagan himself. A Democrat when he arrived in Hollywood, and still a Democrat when he was President of the Screen Actors Guild, he became Governor of California as a Republican. When asked why he left the Democratic Party, he replied that he had not. Rather, he said, the Democrats had left him.
I am now a Registered Republican, since I seem to favor more Republican candidates then Democrats. I want to be part of both the Caucus system, and the Primary system here in Iowa, so I must choose between Democratic and Republican registration. However, I consider myself more of a Conservative Independent with a slight Libertarian bent, as I have not voted a straight ticket in any election since the Democrats left me with no way to express my beliefs. I wonder how Democrats like Henry (Scoop) Jackson and others of his mien would react to the new Democratic Party of howlers like Howard Dean, anti military propagandists like Dick Durban, and blame America first proponents like Ted Kennedy. Would they also switch to Republican, or perhaps Independent status? An interesting question, but one that I am not qualified to answer. What I do know is that the Republicans seem to have room for Moderates, Liberals and Conservatives, while the Democratic Party does not.
While a three-winged bird may appear odd, it is still more likely to fly than a bird with only one wing. That may be why the Republicans have a brighter future than the Democrats.
Tom Glennon
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
I have a confession to make. It should be made public now, before Dan Rather and the 60 Minutes Team shows up at my door with documents about my past that, although forged, are still accurate. I admit, now and publicly, that I was a Democrat, for more years than I should have been.
I was born just after World War II ended, so I am in the front line of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation. Growing up Catholic in Chicago, of Irish and German heritage, I was of course brought up to be a Daley Democrat. The most powerful person in my neighborhood wasn’t the Mayor, Governor, or President. Neither was the Alderman, Senator or Congressional Representative. Not even the Parish Priest was the most powerful or influential person to my family and all the others in my near North neighborhood. No, the person most recognized as a person of authority and influence was the ward heeler, our Democratic Precinct Captain.
Have a streetlight out? Need a job for your brother-in-law, so he and your sister can move out of your attic? Garbage pickup missed your house? Local bully picking on your child? Son needs a recommendation to get into a Union Trade School? All of these problems, and more, were within the purview of the Precinct Captain. He had the ‘clout’ (a Chicago word often misused and misunderstood by persons without a Chicago background) to get things done for you. Your only responsibility was to turn out and vote on every Election Day, and be sure to vote correctly.
Actually, there were three political parties in Chicago back in the forties, fifties and early to mid sixties. You could belong to the Conservative Democrats, Moderate or Centrist Democrats, or Liberal Democrats. I don’t think I heard anything about the Republican Party until I entered High School. Local politicking was fun, because there were so many catfights between the three Democratic Parties. However, when it came to election time, the votes went to the Democratic candidate for whatever office was being contested, whether he or she was a Liberal, Moderate or Conservative. Accommodation, compromise and reality checks with the actual voters eventually arrived at platforms and candidates that were acceptable to all views within the Chicago Democratic Party.
I was very comfortable while a Democrat, because I could maintain my liberal inclination on social issues, moderate views on fiscal policies, and conservative views on crime, defense and foreign policy. The Democratic Party of my youth and early adulthood was a three-winged bird, and had diversity in its makeup long before diversity became just another buzzword. But shortly after the mid-sixties, a terrible event occurred that has repercussions that are felt today. Sometime during this period, SOMEONE STOLE MY DEMOCRATIC PARTY!
I don’t know if it was a plot engineered by Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, Ed Muskie and the Massachusetts wing of Liberals Gone Wild; but suddenly, the Democrats became an exclusively Liberal Club with a progressive and secular agenda, rather than a representative Political Party. My own doubts began with the Democratic led opposition to the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. It was Republican support that enabled these important bills to pass. This was followed by the withdrawal of support for American troops by the Democrats in the late sixties. I then began to evaluate the direction the party was going. After involving America in a war in which I lost friends, the Democratic Administration’s lack of a win strategy, and subsequent actions by the Democratic Congress to insure the defeat of South Vietnam while disparaging our military, gave me reason to question the new attitude of the Democratic Party. And this began while a Democrat held the presidency. While Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement certainly had an impact, the change was too rapid for the dramatic shift to the Left to be the result of only those two issues. I’m not sure what other forces drove this turn to the far left, but suddenly, I was disenfranchised from the party in which I was raised. The divorce became final when the Democrats adopted the unrestricted abortion on demand plank in their official platform.
Rapid though this change was, it was not apparent to the media (or at least not reported on) until the unexpected first Reagan election, and his subsequent landslide re-election. The phenomenon of the Reagan Democrat seems to have been a surprise to many, but it shouldn’t have. Not since Lyndon Johnson had there been a Democratic candidate for the Presidency who could balance Liberal, Moderate and Conservative tendencies within the Democratic electorate. The swing to radical liberal stances on all issues had become entrenched by 1980. As I recall, that was when the term “knee jerk liberal” came into vogue. The only successful Democratic candidate for President since 1980 was Bill Clinton, and he rode the moderate or centrist vote, never voicing any opinion that might be considered too liberal. Clinton never took a stand on anything without first checking with focus groups and conducting numerous polls.
Let’s fast forward to 2004. Why are Zell Miller and Ed Koch considered such oddities? That a Democrat would abandon his Party’s Presidential candidate, and support a Conservative Republican (although many Conservatives would say GWB is not a Conservative) should not be a surprise. Like me, Senator Miller and Mayor Koch both came from a Democratic Party that had three wings, so they could work to incorporate the views they held on specific issues, while remaining among the Party faithful. However, like me, Zell and Ed did not abandon the Democrats. The Democrats abandoned us, verbally burning us at the stake for not towing the party line. When the shift to the left became the only acceptable view within the Democratic Party, our own Party disinherited both moderates and conservatives. The most prominent person of the last quarter of a century to travel this route was President Reagan himself. A Democrat when he arrived in Hollywood, and still a Democrat when he was President of the Screen Actors Guild, he became Governor of California as a Republican. When asked why he left the Democratic Party, he replied that he had not. Rather, he said, the Democrats had left him.
I am now a Registered Republican, since I seem to favor more Republican candidates then Democrats. I want to be part of both the Caucus system, and the Primary system here in Iowa, so I must choose between Democratic and Republican registration. However, I consider myself more of a Conservative Independent with a slight Libertarian bent, as I have not voted a straight ticket in any election since the Democrats left me with no way to express my beliefs. I wonder how Democrats like Henry (Scoop) Jackson and others of his mien would react to the new Democratic Party of howlers like Howard Dean, anti military propagandists like Dick Durban, and blame America first proponents like Ted Kennedy. Would they also switch to Republican, or perhaps Independent status? An interesting question, but one that I am not qualified to answer. What I do know is that the Republicans seem to have room for Moderates, Liberals and Conservatives, while the Democratic Party does not.
While a three-winged bird may appear odd, it is still more likely to fly than a bird with only one wing. That may be why the Republicans have a brighter future than the Democrats.
Tom Glennon
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
Character Building – July, 2004
There has been a lot of discussion recently about Character. Certainly, political commercials have been either emphasizing character, or questioning character, depending on whether touting their candidate, or denigrating the opposition candidate. The core values that define Character are still unchanged from those espoused by Plato. Honesty, courage, virtue, loyalty and compassion are still the measurement of a persons Character.
My Grandfather perhaps said it best. He told me that Character can be measured by what a person does when no one is looking. I bring this up because of a conversation I recently had with my youngest son.
He calls me every week, from his current assignment at an Air Force Base on the East Coast. E-mails and snail mail are fine, but nothing beats the sound of your child’s voice, telling you that everything is OK. Parents can tell from their sons and daughters voices if things really are OK. Anyway, it is always a joy to hear from your child, no matter their age or distance.
He told me he was going to Baltimore over the 4th of July weekend, to pick up two Fraternity brothers from College. From there, they were going up to Washington, to meet with another other Fraternity brother, who was flying in from Georgia, to join them in Washington. Four Iowa boys, Fraternity brothers and graduates of Iowa State University, spending the weekend in Washington. I suppose there was a chance they would spend the time in a two-day party, as a kind of carryover from college days. But somehow, I doubted it. And I have specific reasons for saying that.
Of these four young men, three are former Boy Scouts, two (including my son) reaching the rank of Eagle. While students at Iowa State, these four joined three other Fraternity brothers, and spent Spring Break in their Junior year at a Youth Camp outside Champaign-Urbana Illinois. They had heard about a former Boy Scout Camp that had been given to a Youth Group that wanted to rebuild the camp for children with disabilities. The young men spent their Spring Break that year rebuilding cabins to make them wheelchair accessible, installing showers with handicap assists, replacing windows and installing guide bars for visually impaired campers. While we read in the newspapers about college students who use Spring Break as an opportunity to display behavior that many of us would find immature, these friends and my son were displaying what I would call Character.
So what are these four young men doing now, that makes me think this weekend get together would not be a two day exhibition of youthful indiscretion? Well, the young man flying in from Georgia is an officer in the US Army Airborne. The two young men in Baltimore work for the NSA. My son is in the Air Force. In other words, all four of these young men are involved in service to their country, although the roads they chose are different. All of them have in the past displayed, and continue to display, the personal behaviors that can be counted as Character.
What caused these four to turn out the way they are? Family influence? Involvement in Scouting? The influence of religion? Perhaps the fraternity in college that they joined? The college itself? Maybe growing up in Iowa?
Frankly I don’t have an answer, although I suspect it is all of the above. What I do know is that we are still raising children who understand what Character means, and are living examples that many things about America still work. Pride in our country begins with pride in ourselves. The Character of our country begins with the Character in ourselves. And Character is still defined by how we behave, even when no one is watching.
Post Script
I received another call from my son on the 4th of July. He called me about 6:00 PM Iowa time, an hour before the start of ‘A Capitol 4th’ Program. He said that from where he was standing, he could see the stage with the National Symphony being seated, and could also see the White House, Capital Dome, Washington Monument, and World War II Memorial. He wanted to wish the family a happy 4th, and also said that every American should spend this particular Holiday in Washington DC at least once in their lives. What a Character.
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
Married for 40 years to Judi, they have five adult children, and three grandsons.
Tom can be reached at tglennon@netins.net or through the contact link page at his BSA District website http://www.rrv-bsa.com
There has been a lot of discussion recently about Character. Certainly, political commercials have been either emphasizing character, or questioning character, depending on whether touting their candidate, or denigrating the opposition candidate. The core values that define Character are still unchanged from those espoused by Plato. Honesty, courage, virtue, loyalty and compassion are still the measurement of a persons Character.
My Grandfather perhaps said it best. He told me that Character can be measured by what a person does when no one is looking. I bring this up because of a conversation I recently had with my youngest son.
He calls me every week, from his current assignment at an Air Force Base on the East Coast. E-mails and snail mail are fine, but nothing beats the sound of your child’s voice, telling you that everything is OK. Parents can tell from their sons and daughters voices if things really are OK. Anyway, it is always a joy to hear from your child, no matter their age or distance.
He told me he was going to Baltimore over the 4th of July weekend, to pick up two Fraternity brothers from College. From there, they were going up to Washington, to meet with another other Fraternity brother, who was flying in from Georgia, to join them in Washington. Four Iowa boys, Fraternity brothers and graduates of Iowa State University, spending the weekend in Washington. I suppose there was a chance they would spend the time in a two-day party, as a kind of carryover from college days. But somehow, I doubted it. And I have specific reasons for saying that.
Of these four young men, three are former Boy Scouts, two (including my son) reaching the rank of Eagle. While students at Iowa State, these four joined three other Fraternity brothers, and spent Spring Break in their Junior year at a Youth Camp outside Champaign-Urbana Illinois. They had heard about a former Boy Scout Camp that had been given to a Youth Group that wanted to rebuild the camp for children with disabilities. The young men spent their Spring Break that year rebuilding cabins to make them wheelchair accessible, installing showers with handicap assists, replacing windows and installing guide bars for visually impaired campers. While we read in the newspapers about college students who use Spring Break as an opportunity to display behavior that many of us would find immature, these friends and my son were displaying what I would call Character.
So what are these four young men doing now, that makes me think this weekend get together would not be a two day exhibition of youthful indiscretion? Well, the young man flying in from Georgia is an officer in the US Army Airborne. The two young men in Baltimore work for the NSA. My son is in the Air Force. In other words, all four of these young men are involved in service to their country, although the roads they chose are different. All of them have in the past displayed, and continue to display, the personal behaviors that can be counted as Character.
What caused these four to turn out the way they are? Family influence? Involvement in Scouting? The influence of religion? Perhaps the fraternity in college that they joined? The college itself? Maybe growing up in Iowa?
Frankly I don’t have an answer, although I suspect it is all of the above. What I do know is that we are still raising children who understand what Character means, and are living examples that many things about America still work. Pride in our country begins with pride in ourselves. The Character of our country begins with the Character in ourselves. And Character is still defined by how we behave, even when no one is watching.
Post Script
I received another call from my son on the 4th of July. He called me about 6:00 PM Iowa time, an hour before the start of ‘A Capitol 4th’ Program. He said that from where he was standing, he could see the stage with the National Symphony being seated, and could also see the White House, Capital Dome, Washington Monument, and World War II Memorial. He wanted to wish the family a happy 4th, and also said that every American should spend this particular Holiday in Washington DC at least once in their lives. What a Character.
BIO
Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.
Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.
Married for 40 years to Judi, they have five adult children, and three grandsons.
Tom can be reached at tglennon@netins.net or through the contact link page at his BSA District website http://www.rrv-bsa.com
