Spitz: History and GOP hopefuls

Over the weekend, I unearthed a family photo from 1919 and watched Republican candidates debate on TV.

Unrelated events? Perhaps not.

At times, the presidential hopefuls seemed to be wooing the support of the people in this picture as much as New Hampshire primary voters in 2012.

Not that any of the women pictured could have voted. And being Southerners, it?s unlikely they were Republicans, although they were most assuredly conservative Christians.

To the best of my knowledge, none of them were much interested in national politics. Their lives were centered on the outskirts of a small, rural community. What people in Washington did mattered if they declared war or, as they?d done three years earlier, voted to impose a federal income tax.

Like the photograph itself, which so closely resembles any other picture of a family taken in the late 1800s or early 1900s, my family reflects our nation?s history.

At the time the picture was taken, they had no expectation the government would help in any way if their crops failed or a freak storm blew away the barn. The woman in black would need to rely on the generosity of sons-in-law since there was no Social Security.

If they needed help, they turned to family, others in the community or others who shared similar ties through the church, grange or fraternal organization.

When the youngest member of the family on the left was mauled by a dog, doctors came to the house and sewed up the boy?s face using the dining room table as an operating table. The white doctor in town performed the surgery. The town?s black doctor administered the ether. Neither sent a bill. Their work was done as a professional courtesy to the man on the far left, the local veterinarian who, in turn, provided free care for their horses.

When the Depression hit, the families in the picture took in relatives. Not because they were rich. By that time, the woman holding the twins on the left was widowed and had six kids to raise. But because they had a farm, they had food, which meant they were better off than many of the city kin. And when the city kin got back on their feet, they took in some of the older kids looking for opportunities beyond what their rural town could offer.

The man on the far right owned a general store, but lost all his money by extending credit to neighbors during the Depression. Somehow, the farm stayed in the family and he worked his way back to success in time.

The boys in front, one of the twin girls on the left, and several yet to be born, would find themselves in far-flung parts of the globe during World War II. All came back home to visit. None came back to live.

The changes those in the photo experienced in their lifetimes were astounding, although, of course, they had no way of knowing what lay ahead.

They could only do their best with the cards they were dealt.

Which brings us back to New Hampshire.

Today, New Hampshire represents America the same way the photo represents America a century earlier.

The man New Hampshire picks determines who?s left when the rest of us get our say.

There?s much to admire about our history, but the picture from 1919 is not the future, despite what several candidates preach.

We need the courage of our ancestors as we decide who should lead us into the unknown, not leaders who see the past as where we should be.

(Julia Spitz can be reached at 508-626-3968or jspitz@wickedlocal.com.)

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/medway/news/x579522777/Spitz-History-and-GOP-hopefuls

dippin dots triumph the insult comic dog tucson weather tucson weather peyton hillis cl p cl p