The Little Blue Hen Votes

The first time somebody remarked, “Wow, you’re really politically active,” I was taken aback.

To my way of thinking, if you’re politically passive, you’re avoiding civic responsibility and letting other people do the heavy lifting. Similar to the story of the Little Red Hen, you’re sitting on your butt playing the fiddle, harmonica, or Jew’s Harp (look it up) while I study the issues.

One of my most prominent childhood memories is being in an A&S department store in New Brunswick, NJ when I was 10 years old. As my mother shopped, I wandered into the television department, where the Watergate hearings were broadcast on more than 50 screens. I had no idea who Sam Ervin and Daniel Inouye were, as subtitles appeared under their talking heads.

I quietly switched the channels on one TV located down a side aisle, hoping to find cartoons or episodes of the Little Rascals. To my dismay, the committee session was being broadcast on every network. “Wow,” I thought, “this boring thing must be pretty important.”

My mother must be credited with switching “on” the activism, through her role as President of a local branch of the League of Women Voters. She rejoiced when their lobbying efforts helped pass legislation that led to a nickel deposit on recycled bottles and cans. On the night of the 1980 Presidential election, she was tasked to…