It's President's Day and today I decided to a special edition of fifty plus because
I've been around for a while. But I thought I talked about the presidential
elections history and me James Love Junior, Welcome to the show. So my
first earliest recollection of a president would be Jimmy Carter. I remember the gas
shortage and we were like I think we were even days or odd days to
get gas get We had a Dodge Aspen station wagon. We were having to
be in line with my parents get gas on certain days. And I just
remember seeing him and Amy Carter on TV his daughter, And that's just the
earliest one. I was a kid, so so it was like South school
age as the earliest I remember of a president. The first time I remember
an election was Ronald Reagan eighty one, eighty eighty one. I remember being
in sixth grade going into well, I would have been going into your high
our school decided to go to eighth grade, so but I was. I
remember my teacher Ms. Munson, I Miss Munson, wherever you are.
I hope you're okay. I would have such a crush on her that it's
another story. Talking about the elections and that's when I learned about independence for
the first time, and John Andersons and it's being ast a independent. But
I remember Reagan and THEO that whole thing. I couldn't vote yet. I
was only twelve eleven, twelve years old, but I remember that whole bout
all that. The first election that I was able to vote in was for
George W. No, just for George George Senior, So for George Senior
in the late eighties, and that was the first one I was I was
eighteen. I think I was nineteen when I was going to vote. First
voting, and I remember I was living in Sacramento. I was going to
vote in the local elections there too. We're aching to vote. I had
a register for the draft. Remember that at eighteen that was scary. Whereged
to vote? You know, we had the Cold War back then. I
mentioned to vote, and I remember going into my first voting place. It
was somebody's garage and going to the little booth, a little tiny the little
set up booths and going in and actually voting, and it was it was
fun. I was like, this is a trip, because you'd always heard
about it, and I have heard from my ancestors how important it was.
I knew all that history by then, how important it was for us to
vote, and how we fought to vote. I've always kept that same feeling
that you know, some of my answers died swell to vote, so it's
very important and I will always stand by that. And that's when I began
to look at local elections also, just a little bit. I wasn't interned,
yeah, but I was looking at local elections, but mainly it was
the big ones. And then by the time we got to Clinton, I
was already in my twe and lived some life. I was a protester and
activists in my city. Again, by then I was leaving secondment on going
to San Francisco, where I where actorism was very very huge there, and
again not just presidential, but it was all the local elections. My father
worked in politics senior to politics for Senator Watson for years through the eighties and
the nineties, so I had a little taste of that too. But meanwhile
behind the scenes, seeing some of the stuff there too. But I but
I was all about back then, trying to save the planet, gay lets
me in rights, women's rights, people of color rights. I mean,
that was all about everything. It was like it you know, children's rights,
everything. It was like, there's got to we got a guy got
there and make sure you like to write people. That's why I really started
to look at measures and balance and things like that. Those next couple of
elections looked up and through to Obama. My roommates and I would always sit
down and go through all the ballots, go to the measures, talk about
everything. Some about the president, we'd have to we'd have open discussions,
but how he felt and why we should pull for this person or not that
person. It was very it was very cool. We did that every We
did it all the time, and it was very cool. So I really
wanted to be informed when I went to Paul, and again we go to
places and Bill Paul and that whole thing. It's just it was just very
important when Obama got elected. I'll tell you. And as I'm recording this,
this also Black History months. I remember I was in North Dakota running
an agribusiness agribusiness conference and I was the only black person there. And there's
no free there's no business north Dakota, even from even from my colleagues,
even from the guests that came, the people came to the conference as the
only black person, and I remember I couldn't believe in my lifetime i'd see
a black president. Just never thought. I just never thought. What happened
just or a thought. So it was exciting to see I had voted for
him. I think he was gonna win. I think he could win.
At first, I was like, this will be interesting, but he did.
I thought we see a woman president before he saw a black president.
Obviously I was wrong, but I saw I was like, wow, it
just just having him elected, whether your politics fall whatever side. I just
thought in my years of life I would not seen that. And it was
just exciting to know that we did have a chance. The door was open,
that there is a chance for someone other than what we can usually see
become president. And that parton that was exciting was it was hopeful. It
was like, Okay, if you have a good message and you're really willing
and you're here to help, and maybe it is met who you are.
And we've seen that later in another later elections. Who all's running from,
you know, from Asian, Hispanic, black, white women men. I
say, it's great, this is great. We're seeing all kinds of people
run to bet that's scrip saying of our country. But I started to really
as I got into my forties and now my fifties, it's really important to
me to vote and not get jaded, because I could get jaded as go,
well none, no, nothing matters, and just who cares. I
just still feel like you still have to and I still carry the you know,
ancestors who died and who got killed and were lynched, and we're trying
to be stopped. And I see it happening again in America. I'm not
sure political. Of course, I don't really do a lot of politics on
my page, but because his President's Day, just for this purpose, I'm
over independent. Actually I don't really care for the two party system, which
was more, but I understand how things are set up, and so it's
it's very interesting for me to watch our world nowadays, where we've lost nuance.
There's no nuanced anymore. It's either you're this or that, or people
will want to hear about politics. So the don't hear about politics at all.
They look for you for certain. It's like it's very everything's super one
way or the other. This is a shame stream more than that, it
should we also be able to talk and and share ideas. And I don't
know, but I also that one day maybe I want to utopian society.
I don't know, but as a sittor on President's Day, I hope my
wish is that we continue to have a democracy, we continue to have free
thought and free speech. There are things we really need to work on in
our country that are so important, like homelessness and mental health and things like
that. I want those to take care above anything else. Whoever can get
us there, please get us there. And also healthcare. Also aging because
I'm getting I'm in this now, my fifty plus. These are things I
have to think about, aging, retirements, so security, all that stuff
that changes as you get older, and that influences who you vote for,
who you listen to. And I'm still very of in the local elections and
local what's going on locally. It's very important. But I just wanted to
share today as we're celebrating presidents this President's Day, that who we choose the
president is who we choose the president. I'm James lot Junior, and I
will talk to you another President's Day, I'm sure in the future Mike