Way back in the Dark Age, March of 2008 I believe, my daughter asked me to sign up for Facebook.  So I did and I listed her as a friend and then she pretty much forgot about the site.  Same with me because for almost a year I think she was my only contact.  Then a few old high school friends surfaced and now there are some 120 odd folks (yes, very odd) listed as friends.  Some of them are people I’ve known all my life and yet haven’t seen in 25 to 30 years. 

Today I had a friend on the radio show and he mentioned we’ve been talking on-air for years but have never personally met.  Do you suppose the early telegraph operators had the same experience? 

Psychologists say our personalities are set early in life but our views evolve.  Some old friends are sometimes surprised by how I vote when I go to the ballot box.  You know, I was a registered Democrat for many years when I was younger but to be truthful in my personal life I was always a libertarian/conservative.  Then I worked with young people as a TV manager and concluded a great many of them didn’t have the stones to get through life without someone holding their hands.  This was followed by a couple of abrupt job changes and then the abhorrent behavior of the American left following the tragedy of September eight years ago. 

I think there is another more important experience.  When I worked in news my only work contacts were politicians and newsmakers.  Many of them consider themselves the smartest peoples in any room.  You develop relationships with these people, as in the case of Mario Cuomo some of these are a bit combative, and you’ve a myopic view of the world around you.  It’s a disdain of the other folks you pass on the street or in the store.  You think you have answers they don’t and you must continually enlighten them. 

For much of the last 5 and one half years I’ve hosted radio talk shows.  This is where the enlightenment works in reverse.  Today I spent the first half hour talking with callers about controversies at local schools.  Then we went to break and followed it with 20 minutes of conversation with Bob Erlich.  The former Maryland Governor may be that state’s governor soon again.  The once intense politician is much more relaxed out of office.  It makes my work just sail along.

The difference from then to now is there are regular people involved in the process.  They too can call and chat with the Governor.  It didn’t take me long to recognize that the bean farmers and truck drivers are no less enlightened and ask some great questions.  There’s also something else I notice.  U.S. Senator Tom Carper is an occasional guest.  He’ll spend an hour in studio.  The early questions are often hostile but the latter are friendly.  People want to be heard.  Even if his answers are a bit long and rambling he’s giving his constituents an opportunity to express frustrations and in some cases a thank you for the hearing. 

There is a story I heard when I was a boy.  When the railroad came through my hometown it opened doors.  Some natives of where I came from used it for a quick exit.  Charles Ingalls was one of them.  Those who stayed behind brought the world to the town.  Daniel Webster was on a train heading through the area when the conductor brought things to a halt.  The locals had piled rocks on the tracks.  They refused to clean up the mess until Webster spoke.  They got their wish. 

I’m not as optimistic about the future of my country as I once was but I’m impressed by the regular folks I speak with everyday.   Let’s hope the newsmakers and politicians agree.