(241) Celebrating 60 Years of Marriage and Achieving the American Dream Together.......Dr. Mel & Lydia Simon

January 2020

NEWS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS ST. LOUIS COUNCIL 3335

AMDG

       Their Secrets to a 60 Year Marriage.  Brother Sir Knight Mel Simon (4th Degree) and his wife Lydia recently celebrated their 60^th Wedding Anniversary.  In an era when young couples have a hard time keeping their marriage going for five years, they kept it going for 60 years through good times and bad, highs and lows, joys and sorrows.  How did they do it?  What is their secret?  Mel says “Faith, devotion, and trust in God”.  “One may not get what he asks for, but God grants a better way.  God answers prayers for the family not necessarily the way we want, but for our best” (in the long run). 

Lydia says: “It was a partnership; I did everything for him; I did everything he asked me to do.  I took my wedding vows seriously; I honored the man I married by being submissive to him.”  Old fashioned?  Perhaps, but it worked.  Furthermore, it’s Biblical and if the husband has the last word after considerable dialogue, conflict is minimized.
 
“I attribute all to God.  He was the center of our marriage.  When there was a misunderstanding and I was angry, I prayed and trusted God…….’Let go; let God’……one day at a time.”  Together they tried to maintain a Christ centered home, educating the children in the faith, advising them, praying together and assisting at Mass every Sunday as a family.            

How Mel and Lydia Met. They were both born in the Philippine Islands and survived the Japanese occupation.  As a boy Mel narrowly escaped death when the city hospital was bombed a few minutes after he left.  Once he heard the air raid siren sound, little Mel jumped through the window and rolled down the hill to safety. 

Lydia and Mel were there when their hero, General Douglas MacArthur was forced to escape through a blockade in a PT boat to Corregidor  and Australia to regroup his forces.  Four years later with the approval of U.S. President Harry Truman, he kept his pledge, “I shall return” and landed in Leyte with massive U.S. and allied forces to liberate the Philippines from the yoke of the Japanese occupation.

Mel studied Medicine after high school against the wishes of his father who wanted him to study Agriculture with assurance of a job after graduation because his father was a Division Superintendent of the government school system. Instead, he enrolled at the University of Santo Tomás College of Liberal Arts in Pre-medicine. 

Meanwhile, Lydia studied Pre-Nursing at the same institution in Manila with Mel’s sister Trini.  After both completed their nursing studies, Lydia went to work as a nurse at San Lazaro Hospital.  Trini went to San Juan de Dios Hospital and then to Mary Chiles Hospital prior to furthering her post graduate studies at New York Polyclinic Medical Center.  Meanwhile Lydia was accepted at St. Mary’s Hospital, an affiliate of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

While Mel was doing his internship, his fraternity in medical school was going to hold a Valentine’s Party, at a five star hotel, the Manila Hotel Fiesta Pavilion before graduation.  Since neither Mel nor his fraternity brother William Sales had a date in mind, the latter asked for a suggestion, Mel thought of Lydia who was a close friend of his younger sister Trini.  But the dormitory, where all single nurses live, enforced the dorm policy that no ladies can leave the dorm alone at night without an escort.  Lydia quickly thought of Gerry, her roommate.  The double date was on!  

    This was a stroke of luck for Willie which proved to be the beginning of his lifetime relationship.  It was also providential for Mel because that was the beginning of his romance with Lydia.  Their relationship solidified; they fell in love and now you know the rest of the story.

Before immigrating separately to the United States on June 30, 1959, Mel and Lydia were engaged.  Mel went to the Cook County Hospital for his rotating internship in Chicago and Lydia went to St. Mary’s Hospital and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Willie and Gerry also got engaged, but they stayed in the Philippines.  After four months of not seeing each other, Mel and Lydia decided that it was time to get married.  On October 24, 1959 their Nuptial Mass was the first Filipino wedding ever at St. John’s Catholic Church in Rochester, Minnesota. 

    

The Young Immigrants Together Pursue the American Dream. In 1966 Mel completed his two years of surgical residency and four years in Urology.  Dr. Charles Holzer, Jr. and Dr. Charles Holzer, Sr. --medical pioneers in southeastern Ohio and founders of a hospital system that bears their name-- invited Dr. Mel for an interview with all expenses paid.   Recommended by Dr. J. Lester Wilkey, the Chief of Urology at Cook County Hospital, Mel accepted the invitation to join Holzer Clinic and as Chief of the Department of Urology in Gallipolis, Ohio and later at Pleasant Valley Hospital WV.  Dr. Mel passed over five other opportunities in Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.

Through hard work, sheer determination, and Lydia’s help, Dr. Mel became a very successful and eminent urologist --certified by the American Board of Urology and by the American College of Surgeons as well as the International College of Surgeons-- on both banks of the Ohio River, serving the communities of Gallia County, Jackson County, and Meigs Counties in Ohio and Mason County and Jackson County in West Virginia.  Dr. Mel became active in medical societies and was a full Colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

He also founded the first acupuncture practice in the river cities of Gallipolis and Point Pleasant when it was first introduced by the American Medical Association at which time Dr. Simon was accused locally by his peers of practicing “voodoo medicine”.  Dr. Simon stood his ground against all odds and soon other local doctors began to offer acupuncture as an alternative.

Lydia and Mel Simon celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary with the community at the Ariel Theatre, a restored opera house and home of the Ohio Valley Symphony in Gallipolis, Ohio.   

Team Simon. Let us emphasize that Dr. Simon did not do it alone.  There is considerable truth in the saying:  “Behind every successful man there is a woman.”  That’s his help mate, Lydia always at his side as faithful friend, personal financial secretary, and sometimes manager.  Her help, support, and encouragement made it easier for Dr. Mel to spend more time in his professional and community activities.  They achieved the American dream together, working as “Team Simon”. 

While Dr. Mel was more focused on his work, Lydia was more focused on the home.  She was with the three children (Maria Lucrecia, a dentist in Chicago; Sherwood, a businessman, and Paul, also a businessman and running the Simons’ Old Town Farm), managed the household, paid the bills, took care of the cooking and cleaning, and saw to it that the house was maintained.  A skilled gardener, Lydia not only surrounded the house with beautiful flowers; she had a major role in beautifying the grounds of St. Louis Church.

    

       Immigrants such as Mel and Lydia Simon made America.  They are the best that their native countries have to offer.  That is their intelligence, ingenuity, self-confidence, courage, resourcefulness, and spirit of adventure to take the risk of leaving their countries of birth and adapting to a new culture and a new system.  The timid, the lazy, and the less able stay home.  Most immigrants are willing to work hard, pursue new paths, and do what it takes to be successful.  They give the country new blood and fresh ideas; they come to America seeking opportunity and freedom.  Then they work hard to achieve the American dream and so often find it.

  

       Mel has enjoyed the fruits of his success, but is very generous with his time and financial resources in giving back so much to the twin sister communities that gave him the opportunity as well as to his country of birth that raised him.  That's what makes this prominent physician stand out and led to his being chosen for the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame 

(http://www.aging.ohio.gov/news/halloffame/)

in Columbus.  Lydia was part of it. 

All of that makes them an example to both the very successful as well as to the many unknown people who can only contribute in little yet important ways.......the many little deeds done over many years are also very important and also add to greatness.  Once they had an empty nest Lydia became more involved directly as well as from behind the scenes.

                    Dr. Mel Simon with his wife Lydia, 60 years at his side.

       Dr. Mel and Lydia exemplify Christian stewardship, which recognizes that everything belongs to God and comes from Him....... His providential help, one's endowed talents or gifts, opportunities in life, etc., all of which the individual has little or no control......that God gives us earthly possessions, property, and financial resources in trust as stewards to be used responsibly to provide for our own genuine needs and to serve one's fellow man for the common good of all. 

Greater wealth entails greater responsibility and God will hold us accountable for the use of these gifts.  In other words, the gifted have the responsibility to give something back to the community that was instrumental in their success. 

   Thus Dr. Mel and Lydia Simon have contributed significantly to their parish, St. Louis Church, to the University of Rio Grande, and many other charitable causes.  Dr. Mel has given his time and energy as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Rio Grande (www.rio.edu) from 1994 to 2014 to assist in its growth and guide it through a severe financial crisis. 

Mel contributed significantly to the restoration of the historic Ariel Theatre (www.arieltheatre.org) in 1990, originally built in 1896 as an opera house in the gas light era for this steamboat stop on the Ohio River.  That led to the birth of the Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra (http://www.ohiovalleysymphony.org/Board.htm) and his subsequent participation as a member of its Board of Directors.  The current President of the Ohio Valley Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors is his son, Paul Robert Simon.  

In 2009 Dr. Mel and Lydia founded the French 500 Free Clinic to serve uninsured patients of southeastern Ohio.  It was busy, receiving over 1,200 patients until Obamacare filled that slack.

     Operation We Care (http://www.opwecare.org/4.html).  As President of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America in 1988, he organized an annual medical mission to the Philippines and in 1999 he strengthened the mission by obtaining the sponsorship of the Rotary Club while its District 6690 Governor (www.rotary.org). 

Usually every February for over 33 years (1983 to date), Dr. Simon recruits a team of some 35 doctors and nurses and obtains donations of medical supplies and equipment to do diverse surgeries for a very intense two weeks.......cleft palate, some genetic deformities, tumors, eye surgery, dental surgery, etc.  Each participant in the mission pays his/her own travel expenses.   At the same time the team members train their counterparts in a real people to people outreach.  As a nurse Lydia accompanies Dr. Mel on every mission and has a very important role.  The team members call her “Mission Mama”.   

       From their own resources, Mel and Lydia furnished a 100 bed surgical ward of the 400 bed Region One Medical Center in Dagupan, Pangasinan in the northern Philippines.   In gratitude for five years of bringing the medical mission and numerous donations, it was officially named as the “Dr. Mel & Lydia Simon Surgical Ward in 2007.

 

In addition they helped in the construction of a 30 bed community hospital in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, where deep water drinking wells were also constructed in 17 surrounding villages through the generosity of Filipino and American Rotary Clubs.   These wells helped to greatly decrease the incidence of gastro-intestinal diseases and improved the quality of life.  Dr. Mel and Lydia also initiated nutrition and literacy programs for hundreds of undernourished school children.   

May God grant Team Simon good health and many more years to do His work. 

APPENDIX

Dr. Mel’s Book.

The reader may find the above in much greater detail in Dr. Mel Simon’s auto biography, “Two Rivers: A World Apart”.  It can be obtained from www.amazon.com and Bards & Noble.  The reader may also borrow the book from the Bossard Library of Gallipolis, Ohio or from his local library via inter-library loan.  Mel is now working on a second book.

Articles Involving Dr. Mel Simon

(16) Dr. Mel Simon: A Career Serving God & His People

        http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2011/10/dr-mel-simon-career-serving-god-his.html

(90) French 500 Free Clinic (Gallipolis, Ohio) Celebrates Its Third Anniversary of Operations

        http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2012/08/french-five-hundred-free-clinic.html

(91) Description of the French Five Hundred Free Clinic in Gallipolis, Ohio

        http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2012/08/91-description-of-french-500-free-clinic.html

(240) The Miraculous 1914 Christmas Truce of World War I

AMDG

       In 1914 Europe was a powder keg waiting for a spark to set it off.  Nationalism and militarism were rampant in the monarchies.  The nations competed with each other on colonies, borders, natural resources, and trade interests.  Europe was polarized by complex alliances.  The decline of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) created a power vacuum.  Poland, no longer a nation with borders, had been divided up since 1793 among Germany, Austria, and Russia, which ruled Bulgaria.  The Austria-Hungary Empire was in control of  present day Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Balkan countries of Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia, and much of the Ukraine as well as other ethnic groups, all of which yearned for independence.  For an ethnic map of Austria-Hungary see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1916)#/media/File:Austria_Hungary_ethnic.svg. 

The spark came on June 28, 1914.  In Sarajevo a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, as well as his wife.  After an ultimatum, Austria declared war on Serbia; the allied blocks came to the aid of one side or the other and the war was on…….Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Serbia, Russia, and Romania vs. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey.  America had immigrants from all of these countries.  The conflict became a full blown world war in 1917 when the United States was drawn into it.

In all of these countries after a lot of pomp and ceremony, patriotic rallies, huge parades with many on horseback, and thousands cheering, the young men were sent out to bring glory for the motherland.  Then reality set in as millions of young men suffered through the variants of weather, the cruel killing, the battle wounds and death for their countries.  

       Since almost all of the countries involved were Christian at the time (much less today), Pope Benedict XV did all he could to stop the killing with numerous appeals.  The Pontiff called for a truce for the birth of Christ; he was ignored, but God apparently answered his prayers by arranging for a truce anyway as we shall see.

   

      Trench warfare continued for months along the 600 miles of trenches on the Western Front (Northern France).  The trenches were about six feet deep with a couple of inches of water, even knee deep after a couple days of rain.  They would often use periscopes to observe the enemy line.  Under unsanitary conditions in close quarters, dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever, frostbite, lice, and trench foot were common.  The Eastern Front extended from the Baltic Sea down to the Balkans.

       The Western Front was relatively static as they would fight endless battles over small pieces of ground.  Extensive artillery barrages preceded infantry charges over the top of the trench in the face of barbed wire and withering machine gun fire, leaving bodies piled up in “No Man’s Land” between the opposing trenches.  The charging force would finally retreat and the enemy would take his turn to charge.  It was back and forth for the next four years, like a scoreless football game, but here the game was deadly.      

 

Although the pundits predicted that the war would be over quickly, any thoughts of being home for Christmas evaporated.  By December 1914 weeks of heavy rain had turned both the trenches and No Man’s Land into a cold, muddy morass.  For those on the Western Front, daily life was miserable, but it was a misery that soldiers on both sides shared together, separated by only 50 yards in some places, 25 yards in one case.  They could hear each other sing during lulls in the fighting.

      Then it was Christmas Eve on a frosty well below freezing starlit night, reminiscent of that holy night when the shepherds were tending their sheep in the hills outside of Bethlehem over 1900 years before.  During a lull in the fighting, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) soldiers saw lanterns and small fir trees with lit candles along the enemy trenches.  They heard German soldiers singing such traditional carols as “Stille nacht, heilige nacht……..” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fos5pibAiQ).   The  British troops applauded.  They responded with “Silent night, holy night…….” and the Germans clapped.  Then both sides together sang the international carol, “Adeste Fidelis” (Latin for “O Come All You Faithful” see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz13ufATook).    Elsewhere on the front the Belgians, French, and the French Canadians were singing their carols “Douce nuit, sainte nuit…….” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieiDrKToeg0).

British and German Soldiers caroling in the same trench.

On Christmas Day the weather was beautiful and sunny, but cold.  A few soldiers popped out of the trench for a second or two, waved, and shouted “MERRY CHRISTMAS!”.  Nobody shot at them.  A couple of British soldiers ventured out with their arms spread and a few Germans came out.  “They shook hands and then everybody flocked out!”  The enemies swapped cigarettes, cigars, cognac and rum taken from local pubs, badges, souvenirs, even plum pudding which the Queen sent to the British troops, and took photos of each other.  They talked about each other’s wife and kids.  Why can’t enemies do that today?  “We talked about a truce on New Year’s day because the Germans wanted to see how the photos came out.”  

Isolated spontaneous events like this occurred all across the front.  One British soldier mused:  “It’s just didn’t seem right to be killing each other at Christmas time.”  A British chaplain and a German divinity student had a joint Christmas service together.  Both sides gathered their dead in No Man’s Land and buried them.  They even had a joint burial service with military honors.  

The combatants of both sides come together to celebrate the birth of the Christ child.

         In another part of the front, the British troops heard a shout:  “You no shoot; we no shoot”.  Miraculously, the shelling stopped and the guns went silent…… at least for a little while along 2/3 of the 30 mile British front.  This was one of many usually independent, isolated, spontaneous, impromptu mini truces all across the western front.  According to one veteran, “It just happened.  No one expected it, let alone organize it.”  Mostly Christians on both sides could not kill on Christmas day.  So many men on both sides were involved in forbidden fraternization that there was little the generals could do.  Is that a miracle or what?

German and British soldiers gathered together in the same trench for some caroling on Christmas.  Then they come together for a little partying and drinking outside a trench.  They all realized that the enemy soldiers their governments demonized in propaganda aren’t much different than themselves with the same aspirations, love of family, etc.  “They seemed to be decent fellows”, one Brit observed.   They must have felt like brothers killing each other…..Saxons on the German side, Anglo Saxons on the British side!  To their surprise some of the German soldiers spoke English, a few visited Britain, even lived and worked in London for a while.

See the Appendix for links to videos and excerpts of eye witness accounts of the combatants through the letters they sent home. 

     

Soccer. Then in the afternoon there were several friendly soccer matches between the combatants.  Apparently there was a soldier or two who loved the game so much that they managed to stuff a soccer ball into their backpacks.  In other games they improvised soccer balls with sandbags or whatever.  Some of the results even hit the London newspapers.  Among the scores were Brits 3 Germans 2.  In another game it was Germans 4 Brits 1.  These friendly games were more meaningful and historically noteworthy than when Britain would play Germany for the World Cup.  

   Wouldn’t it be nice if we could settle our political, economic, and ideological differences on the soccer field instead of shooting each other’s heads off?   That’s just a dream of course, but it makes more sense than this war which caused 17 million deaths and 20 million wounded.  About half of all combatants were either killed or wounded. 

  

If only both sides could confide in a neutral international court or arbitrator to settle differences.  The Pope was just that arbiter at one time among Catholic countries.  Portuguese is spoken in Brazil today because Pope Alexander VI arbitrated a demarcation line at 47.6 degrees west longitude in 1494 in the Western Hemisphere.  Spanish speaking countries are on the western side of the line.

       The truce was not observed everywhere along the Western Front.  The fighting continued in some places and casualties did occur on Christmas Day.  Two British soldiers were killed by snipers while giving gifts to the enemy.  The Bavarians apologized.  On the Eastern Front a group of Russian soldiers came with a white flag and invited their Austrian counterparts for Easter dinner……another respite or break from the hate and the killing.

 

       After a few days or after New Years in some places, as the Christmas trees were taken down in their home countries, it was back to the cold, damp, rat infested trenches with the incessant shelling and the gunfire as first one side and then the other would emerge from their trenches to raid or attack the enemy and then move back.  World War I was trench warfare and a war of attrition while the lines remained rather static.

Nevertheless, Christmas 1914 was extraordinary and this truce was miraculous……In the midst of some of the bloodiest warfare ever known, peace could break out, not war and erstwhile enemies could reconcile, even if temporarily. Let us take their example today in both international and interpersonal relations. 

       The top commanders on both sides were alarmed by the Christmas Truce for fear of fraternization and a decrease in the fighting spirit of their men.  It was probably the junior officers who allowed it, while the senior officers did not stop it for fear of hurting morale.  During the Christmases of 1915, 1916, and 1917 before the war ended with an armistice on November 11, 1918, commanders made sure that the Christmas Truce of 1914 would never happen again.  It is really a unique event in military history.  For the rest of the war there were only lulls and tacitly agreed brief pauses or mini truces sufficient to bury the dead and repair the trenches and dugouts.  It was known as the “Live and Let Live” system in the more quiet sectors of the front line.

 

       Clearly, the grunts who are drafted and forced to make the enemy die for his country would much rather be at home with their loved ones.  War is hell!  War is started and waged by power hungry, nationalistic, and greedy politicians or fanatical ideologues who force their youth to fight as their proxies. 

Fast forward a few years in history, and we see that alliances and the enemy change over time.  In the Cold War between Soviet Communism and NATO (U.S., Canada, and Western Europe), World War II enemies Germany, Italy, and Japan became our allies while the Soviet Union went from ally to enemy.  Today we do business with North Vietnam and even visit the country.  In the USA the people of the North and the South, once bitter enemies in a tragic fratricidal civil war, are now citizens of one prosperous and powerful country.

 

All of this shows the folly and the tragedy of war, all the money, resources, and human lives spent for what?  True, Poland was reborn as a nation in 1918 and eventually the Czechs, the Slovaks, the Croats, the Slovenians, the Bosnians, and the Ukrainians obtained their independence.  But the human condition due to old fashioned sin is such that we will always have to maintain a vigilant military to preserve our freedom that throughout our history has been so costly to maintain.  Often however, the “enemy is us” as Pogo observed.  We allow our country to decay from within due to collapsing morality while our religious freedom erodes.

Similarly, may Christmas bring a pause in our spiritual cultural war between the left and the right, between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans.  Let us all celebrate together the true meaning of Christmas which would be a step in finding some common ground and even a degree of reconciliation.  That would make it just a little easier to work together at least on some issues and be civil in discussion and negotiation.    

May God help us to take a path of righteousness and faithfulness to Him.  Let us pray the rosary every day for peace and for the conversion of sinners as Mary taught us at Fatima in 1917.   Then the angels’ announcement to the shepherds in the Gospel of Luke will come true today:  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men of good will” (Luke 2:14).  

APPENDIX

Videos, Documentaries, and Articles

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/12/24/the-christmas-truce-miracle-soldiers-put-down-their-guns-to-sing-carols-and-drink-wine/ - Excerpts of letters from the troops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbQvjNHWLRc – a BBC documentary with interviews of veterans as eye witnesses in their own words. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgPi_me1p4 – a video documentary.

      

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg5rqxP2cZs and //www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ws4mbUFzI – fascinating video movie/documentaries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce  -The Christmas Truce

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-of-the-wwi-christmas-truce-11972213/ - A Smithsonian Magazine article.

https://www.history.com/topics/christmas-truce-1914-world-war-i-soldier-accounts - “What Happened When World War I Paused For Christmas”

Eye Witness Accounts of British Soldiers From Letters Sent Home
(Taken from the National World War I Museum and Memorial Kansas City, MO)

           “Then the Germans started shouting across to us, ‘a happy Christmas’ and commenced putting up lots of Christmas trees with hundreds of candles on the parapets of their trenches” (Cpl. Leon Harris, 13th Battalion, London Regiment).

         “We would sing a song or a carol first and then they would sing one and I tell you they can harmonize all right” (Pvt. G. Layton, A Company, 1^st Royal Warwickshire Regiment).

          “All through the night we sang carols to them and they sang to us and one played ‘God Save the King’ on a mouth organ” (Rifleman C. H. Brazier, Queen’s Westminsters of Bishop’s Stortford).

           “On Christmas Day we were out of the trenches along with the Germans, some of whom had a song and dance, while two of our platoons had a game of football.  It was surprising to see the German soldiers ---some appeared old, others were boys, and others wore glasses…A number of our fellows have got addresses from the Germans and are going to try and meet one another after the war” (Pvt. Farnden, Rifle Brigade).

          “Between the trenches there were a lot of dead Germans whom we helped to bury.  In one place where the trenches are only 25 yards apart we could see dead Germans half-buried, their legs and gloved hands sticking out of the ground.  The trenches in this position are so close that they are called ‘The Death Trap’, as hundreds have been killed there” (a junior officer).

       "On our right was a regimen of Prussian Guards and on our left was a Saxon regimen.  On Christmas morning some of our fellows shouted across to them saying that if they would not fire, our chaps would meet them half-way between the trenches and spend Christmas as friends.  They consented to do so.  Our chaps at once went out and when in the open, Prussians fired on our men, killing two and wounding several more.  The Saxons, who behaved like gentlemen, threatened the Prussians if they did the same trick again.  Well, during Christmas Day our fellows and the Saxons fixed up a table between the two trenches and they spent a happy time together, and exchanged souvenirs and presented one another with little keepsakes” (a British soldier).

        “The mist was slow to clear and suddenly my orderly threw himself into my dugout to say that both the German and Scottish soldiers had come out of their trenches and were fraternizing along the front. I grabbed my binoculars and looking cautiously over the parapet saw the incredible sight of our soldiers exchanging cigarettes, schnapps and chocolate with the enemy. Later a Scottish soldier appeared with a football, which seemed to come from nowhere, and a few minutes later a real football match got underway. The Scots marked their goal mouth with their strange caps and we did the same with ours. It was far from easy to play on the frozen ground, but we continued, keeping rigorously to the rules, despite the fact that it only lasted an hour and that we had no referee.  A great many of the passes went wide, but all the amateur footballers, although they must have been very tired, played with huge enthusiasm” (Lieutenant Johannes Niemann).

(239) Stop the Polarization of America, an Evil That Can Destroy Our Country

AMDG

       Our country has been polarized in the past……..Slave States vs. Free States; the Union vs the Confederacy (1861-65); Franklin Roosevelt was loved and he was hated as president (1932-1945).  Mexico went through it during the Mexican Cristero War (1926-29) and Spain went through a bitter Civil War (1936-39).

Today and ever since the 1960s America has been polarized…….Liberals vs. Conservatives, the Left vs. the Right, us vs. them and it’s getting worse.  We tend to assume that anyone who disagrees with our thinking or opposes us is evil.  A censure vote isn’t good enough even though that measure is more likely to be bipartisan; the Democratic controlled House of Representatives is out for blood……destroy the President and overthrow him by impeachment.  They can’t wait 11 months for the people to decide next November, fearing that they might lose the election.  History shows that throughout the world, severe polarization can lead to revolution, coups, civil war, military suppression, etc.  To everyone’s credit the process has been more or less orderly so far with no violence while there is some semblance of following the Constitution although there are big differences in its interpretation.

A pensive President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1998 during his impeachment ordeal.          

  

       Terrible Precedents. The Republican controlled House impeached President Bill Clinton in 1998, charging inappropriate sexual behavior with a White House, intern, Monica Lewinsky, perjury, and obstruction of justice.  In the Senate trial, Clinton was acquitted (see https://www.npr.org/2019/12/06/784721754/president-clinton-was-impeached-21-years-ago-some-parallels-run-deep).  It is almost certain that the same result will occur again as history repeats itself since the Republican Party has a majority in the Senate……..all that time wasted while neglecting the country’s many problems.  The Republicans set a precedent in 1998.  “What comes around goes around”. 

Now the danger is another bitter precedent for the future.  The next time the Republicans control the House and they can’t get along with a Democratic president, they will also resort to the political death penalty to overthrow a duly elected president…….impeachment, which should be only an extreme measure for crimes and treason to peacefully stop a tyrannical and corrupt president.  In 1973 President Nixon resigned before being impeached because the movement was to a large extent bipartisan.  

Today it’s strictly along party lines with no dissenter on either side, all of which indicates that the whole thing is political.  Regardless of the result of the impeachment proceedings, bipartisanship and cooperation will be very difficult in the future.  Hopefully, at least the friendly but very competitive annual congressional baseball game between the opposite sides of the aisle will survive (see https://wtop.com/sports/2018/06/bayou-brothers-scalise-richmond-bridge-opposite-ends-of-congressional-baseball-game-spectrum/slide/1/).  Its objective is to help the congressmen to better know each other as human beings.

       Even the Catholic Church and Christianity in general is polarized…….Conservatives and Liberals……those who are faithful to Church teachings and the Cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose what they want to believe.  Among them are Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Dianne Feinstein, etc…….. “I’m personally opposed to abortion, but I cannot impose my views on others”……a grand cop out and really capitulation.  

Historically, the Pope was the arbiter and had the final word on doctrine and its Biblical interpretation.  Today the Papacy Church teaching is often ignored by the Left.  The Liberals see nothing wrong with contraception, pre-marital sex, abortion, same sex marriage, gender change, etc.  Some conservatives, on the other hand, only give lip service to Church teaching on social justice, a living wage, and equal opportunity for all; some are so anti-union that they do not understand the need for labor-management cooperation.

                           President Donald Trump at one of his political rallies.

       True, President Trump is a polarizing figure who is either loved or hated.  His constant tweets……calling unfavorable articles or editorials fake news; saying that the impeachment inquiry is a witch hunt and a hoax, etc.; ridiculing and attacking the character of the political opponent, writer or commentator who criticizes him……..certainly are not conducive to harmony, bipartisanship, cooperation, compromise, and finding common ground on which start amicable negotiation.    

    

    

It is customary for presidents and congressmen to put their assets and businesses into a trust to minimize any appearance of using his political power to favor his businesses.  That and making public his tax returns would be a big help.  There must be some transparency in the administration to build up a certain trust with the people unless national security is at stake.  

The President should be an example of integrity and foster an atmosphere of ethical operations even if not covered by a law.  He should insist that every official in his administration avoid even the appearance of impropriety.  Asking the president of a foreign country to participate as a favor in the investigation of Joe Biden, a political opponent, and his son in the Ukraine largest gas company is not appropriate.  Sooner or later it would come out and Donald Trump paid dearly for taking that foolish risk.

Civility.  Let’s begin with the premise that anyone who disagrees with our point of view or opposes us is not evil, but sincere, even if sincerely wrong and should be treated with courtesy, respect, and kindness.  Let’s put our Christianity into practice…….old fashioned Christian love in the sense that we do care about the good of everyone.  Ethical competition in business is good for society since the profit motive is a great incentive for innovation, new products, greater quality at a lower price, but it doesn’t have to be dog eat dog.  

Ethical competition in political elections is democracy at its best…….promoting new ideas and healthy debate for the common good.  But it doesn’t have to be a quest for power, ego, and personal gain.  A politician worth his salt must have a sincere desire to serve.  It doesn’t matter who wins political points and receives the credit as long as the American people benefit…….the common good.  That’s what it’s all about.

It is essential for our system of checks and balances to work.  That can only happen if each branch of government cooperates with each other.  Even if the impeachment process today is a hoax, the Trump Administration should cooperate with the subpoenas that the congressional committees demand.  They are part of the system of checks and balances and must be preserved.  That gives transparency and breeds cooperation.  If an administration refuses to cooperate with a subpoena, then the Supreme Court should be the final arbiter.  Another bad precedent has been set for future administrations to stonewall and congressional subpoena.

 

The Press and the Media.  Let’s assume that a journalist does not consciously write fake news.  True, his bias creeps in.  Let’s get back to Journalism 101.  Every journalist must aspire to be objective as humanly possible.  News is independent of the reporter’s opinion…….just the facts, quoting observers on the scene, and including opposing points of view.  The author of investigative reporting must be predisposed to change his opinion or point of view if the facts and the events warrant it.  Opinion belongs on the editorial page.

     

 Idealistic?  There was a time when senators would address each other with respect, such as “the distinguished senator from Ohio”.  Liberals and Conservatives, Republicans and Democrats had heated debates between opposing points of view, but in the end they could be friends………like sportsmanship.

Conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan conferring with the liberal Democrat Speaker of                the House,Tip O'Neill in 1982.

After his election in 1980, the conservative Republican President Ronald Reagan pursued his agenda of tax cuts, a military buildup, and deregulation, all of which the liberal Democratic Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill had done everything he could to resist as a bitter political enemy of the President.  With the budget deficit rising and the markets getting concerned about Washington’s solvency, the Republican and the Democrat needed each other’s help. The White House wanted to cut domestic spending, including Social Security. O’Neill wanted to safeguard entitlement programs and reverse some of Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich.  The two sides kept at it for four months.  They announced an agreement that formed the basis of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which increased tax revenues by about one per cent of G.D.P. Reagan and O’Neill also set up a bipartisan commission on Social Security, and the following year they both endorsed a set of reforms that put the finances of the public retirement system on a firmer footing. However, the agreement delayed a cost-of-living adjustment and raised the retirement age. It also increased contributions and cut benefits for future retirees.  See https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/can-donald-trump-learn-from-ronald-reagan-and-tip-oneill.  Yes it is possible for enemies to work together when the common good demands it.

In my own personal life I have two dear friends, Fred and Kay Turk.  We worked together in Peru as lay missionaries. We all aspired to serve others.  In my opinion they’re wild eyed liberals.  We are on opposite poles in politics as well as on Church renewal.  We would debate into the wee hours; yet remained friends.  They even made me the godfather of Dan, their first born son, whom I visit every year when in Washington for the March For Life.  

  

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House in 2019-20.

Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House and leader of the impeachment movement against President Trump, said to a reporter accusing her of hating President Trump: “I pray for the President every day”.  That’s a great start……..opposing forces praying for each other.  That would give great hope.  Let’s pray for our Country and for each other.  After all, for God, anything is possible.