I write to clarify issues related to changes in the heat content of the Earth’s atmosphere and its relationship to climate change. It has recently been claimed by some that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during the last 70 years has had no measurable impact on the temperature of the Earth.

Climate change deniers argue that there has been a “pause” in the rate of global warming during the last decade. In fact, some claim that the Earth has actually cooled by a mean of 0.7 degrees Celsius (°C) in recent years. However, numerous studies (e.g., Risbey et al. 2018. A fluctuation in surface temperature in historical context: reassessment and retrospective on the evidence. Environ. Res. Lett., 13: 123008) have disproved this claim. The evidence of a warming trend over the past century is unequivocal. Here are the realities:

Between 1880 (the year that accurate record keeping began) and 1980, the Earth’s atmosphere warmed by an average of 0.07°C every 10 years. However, since 1981, annual mean global temperature has increased by 0.18 °C per decade – more than double that of the previous 100 years in just 40 years! In this context, it is important to note that these decadal trends are occurring against a backdrop of natural temperature variability due to seasonal changes in solar radiation and changes in ocean circulation (e.g., fluctuations between La Niña and El Niño events). Thus, for example, global temperatures in 2021 are running cooler when compared to recent years due to a moderate La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean,

Although the mean annual temperature of the atmospheric has varied from year to year, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased steadily over the last 60 years with little seasonal or inter-annual variability. There is more CO2 in the atmosphere now than at any time in the last 3 million years. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the amount of atmospheric CO2 in May 2020 hit an average of about 417 parts per million (ppm). This is the highest monthly average value ever recorded, and is up from 415 ppm in May of 2019. The last time global CO2 levels in the atmosphere exceeded 400 ppm was around four million years ago! The result? Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1880 have occurred since 2005, and the 5 warmest years on record have all occurred since 2015.

Finally, one must distinguish between global warming and climate change. Global warming and climate change are not synonyms. “Climate change” includes global warming, but also refers to a broader range of changes that are occurring globally, e.g. increases in the strength of extreme weather events (tropical storms, droughts, floods); changes in global patterns of precipitation, winds and ocean currents; and melting ice caps and sea level rise. These are all consequences of global warming that will profoundly impact our health and wellbeing in the long term.

Tom Malone, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

The neo-Confederate “Talbot Boys” statue in front of the Talbot County courthouse in Easton, Md., was dedicated in 1916, a half-century after Lee’s surrender to Grant and in the middle of the virulent Jim Crow era.

Atop its granite pedestal, the statue depicts a young Caucasian soldier with “C.S.A.” on his belt buckle. With truculence, he grips a battle flag that’s clearly the secessionist Stars-and-Bars. The pedestal proclaims, “To the Talbot Boys / 1861-1865 / C.S.A.,” and memorializes local men who enlisted in the Confederate army to defend slavery.

It’s just one of many such statues erected in the early 1900s to glorify the Confederacy 50 years after Appomattox. Manufactured by the W.H. Mullins Co. of Salem, Ohio. Easton’s statue had an identical, Mullins-made twin in Lake Charles, La., until that one toppled during a hurricane. That twin of Talbot’s was entitled “The South’s Defenders,” leaving no doubt as to the fervent intent of the Louisianans who put it up.

As the banner at the Juneteenth demonstration at the Easton courthouse succinctly stated, the Talbot Boys were “TRAITORS TO OUR NATION.” American citizens all, they volunteered to fight for the Confederate States of America against the United States of America. They betrayed our nation, pure and simple.

Local apologists for their county’s testimonial to white supremacy and chattel slavery are quick to fire up the gas lamps. You just don’t understand, they say. You just haven’t been taught the true history of this statue. You need an explanation.

They claim that in 1913, a second monument was also planned to honor the Talbot citizens who were loyal to their nation and who fought for the Union. But, they say, funds for this were never raised. They also claim they want to now build a pro-Union monument and erect it on the courthouse grounds, as if so doing would somehow achieve moral equivalency between the CSA and the USA, between slavery and freedom.

Local apologists also propose that a county-wide referendum should be conducted, as if a majority vote to preserve the monument would magically render the South’s slavery and the Confederacy’s treason somehow moral and righteous.

Citing the ACLU’s current lawsuit to have the statue removed, apologists even raise this phantasmic boogeyman, that a “national pressure group will come in to take over local government.” What nonsense!

Our nation is 21 years into the 21st Century. We are past 200 years of slavery and past 100 years of racial segregation. Many Americans are taking steps to ensure our nation doesn’t return to those eras, but instead moves forward to forge a new one. No longer a Black versus White argument, the new civil rights movement has clearly become Blacks-and-Whites-together against those Whites who just don’t want to listen.

Millions of Americans have family going back to the Civil War era. Many have forebears who fought in the war. I am one; two great-great uncles of mine served in the Union Army.

A traitor from Talbot County could have taken aim many times at Capt. May Stacey, at Gaines Mills, or Antietam, or Spotsylvania Courthouse, or Five Forks. My Uncle May’s war diary and letters have been passed down; he fought as a U.S. regular in those battles and others, and by luck and pluck survived the war.

And Lt. Col. Joseph Curtis’ voluminous letters to his mother, Julia Bowen Curtis, my great-great grandmother, have also been preserved. Uncle Joe led his Rhode Island troops in battle at Roanoke Island and at Antietam. It could have been a traitor from Talbot County who shot him off his horse, dead as he rallied his troops through Fredericksburg.

Talbot County’s controversy over its rebel statue is part of the national debate over Confederate relics, a war which the “Lost Cause” is clearly losing again. Monuments such as the Talbot Boys are being removed, one by one, state after state, including Maryland.

State flags have been altered to excise the “Stars and Bars” motif, and schools, streets, and military bases are being renamed. This past winter, Maryland’s General Assembly voted to deep-six “Maryland, My Maryland” as the state song (it attacked Abe Lincoln). Governor Hogan has signed it.

In support of removing the Talbot Boys statue, Maryland’s Sen. Chris J. Van Hollen said, “We have an obligation to build a more perfect union, not honor those who fought to dissolve it.”

Easton’s courthouse lawn — which once served as an auction pen for enslaved people — may soon witness the decamping of the Talbot Boys.

Gren Whitman has been a leader in neighborhood, umbrella, public interest, and political groups and committees, and worked for civil rights and anti-war organizations. He is now retired and lives in Rock Hall, MD. 

 

Is it because I’m and old guy—89 pushing 90 —or have the Lords of Language sneaked some things past me, filling daily speech with so many phrases I don’t recall hearing, even a few years ago. 

I am fascinated by new, popular words and phrases that appear with great frequency on the tube, in print media and on digital platforms.  

A recent headline in a financial journal hit me right between the eyes. In big, black, bold type the headline proclaimed “Meme Stock Rally Resumes.” What!?

I know what a stock is but a meme stock?  Mr. Webster says a meme is “an idea, behavior, style or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.”  Today that spreading is enhanced by social media. So it follows that stocks that are highly touted on social media are Meme Stocks. Voila!

And then there is a meme called “ghosting.”  Really? You bet. The Urban Dictionary, a cool version of Mr. Webster’s book, says ghosting, among other things, is “The act of suddenly ceasing all forms of communication with someone the subject is dating but no longer wishes to date.”  Back in the day a young lady wishing to break up with her boyfriend had the courtesy to ghost him by writing a “Dear John” letter. More recently she may have consulted Paul Simon’s great tune, “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.”

Have you researched a topic lately, examined a subject carefully?  Then you must have taken a “deep dive” into a particular subject.  Folks seem to be deep diving all over the place these days.  Used to be a term for a daring plunge into the Bay. 

On the other hand, if one does not wish to dive deeply there is always the possibility of “unpacking” something, or getting “into the weeds” to discover more about a subject.  

Now if you still have not been able to gain all the information you want you can probe even more deeply by “drilling down.”   But the phrase conjures up the none too pleasant sound of a jackhammer at work or perhaps a visit to the dentist.  Not good. 

Some other things we are doing these days:

We all seem to be “on a journey.”  Not sure where we are going or when we will return, but there we are.

We no longer write, call or contact someone. We “reach out.” Or, if we are anxious to receive a prompt reply, we can up the volume and give a “shout out.”

Have you noticed how many times the phrases “lean in” or “leaning in” come up these days?  Seems to have several definitions: “To make an effort, or work hard, show determination or embrace or experience something fully.”   

And how about “pivot” or “pivoting?”  How often have we heard pubic officials or tv commentators use these words during the pandemic?   We never changed course; we always “pivoted.”  

Then there are tropes.  I don’t recall hearing about tropes when I was a kid  It’s a figure of speech that moves the meaning of a phrase from literal to figurative. One trope we all know is “Take time to smell the roses.”

When a person is hired for a new job these days they are not introduced to the company. Nor do they go through an orientation as they once did. Today they are “onboarded.”  As in Welcome Aboard, I guess.

Let’s wind up this venture into some current phrases with a homework assignment. 

“23 Skidoo” was a popular saying in the 1920s. There is a good story associated with it.  Just pivot, do a deep dive, or maybe reach out to a friend or Mr. Google to learn more about it. 

Ross Jones is a former vice president and secretary emeritus of The Johns Hopkins University. He joined the University in 1961 as assistant to President Milton S. Eisenhower. A 1953 Johns Hopkins graduate, he later earned a Master’s Degree at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Many Spy readers probably have no clue about Heaven’s Gate, and that’s OK. It happened in March 1997, so 24 years ago. A quick precis: Heaven’s Gate was a California cult, led by Marshall Applegate. He convinced 47 followers they should wear the same black uniforms, the same brand of new black/white Nike basketball shoes (“Decades”), climb into bunk beds, cover themselves with a purple sheet and commit suicide. 

If they did so, and 39 did, their souls would be transported to a spaceship trailing a nearby comet called Hale-Bopp, and be immediately beamed to heaven. Applegate had selected 8 to remain on Earth to serve as a communication center and to recount their story.   

Fast forward to March 2021, when a poll sponsored by the Public Religion Research Institute, was undertaken. The 5625 American respondents were queried about the degree of their belief in or support for, the QAnon conspiracy theory. It was launched anonymously on social media in 2016-2017 and continues to evolve.  

Just a reminder, QAnon’s storyline is much more complex and considerably more effective than Heaven’s Gate. It asserts that power in the United States is in the hands of a cabal of satan worshiping pedophiles who traffic in children. Moreover, it is the duty of real American patriots, to depose the pedophiles, with violence if necessary, and restore the country’s rightful order. 

One of the more recent extrapolations accepted by a QA scism, holds that a biblical-scale storm will sweep away these evil elites and restore the rightful leaders.

It has generated a large cult following, which the poll measured. Given the small number of respondents, the results only indicate the scale and nothing more. The poll’s political party percentages below are too precise, but believable as one is more a Qanon acolyte than another.

2021 Poll Results: 

15% of Americans believe the basic fact of powerful devil-worshipping pediphiles controlling the US.

14% of Americans fall into the category “QAnon Believers” who accept all the above.

Party Affiliation:
Republican – 25%
Democrats –  7%
Independents – 12%

55% of Republicans fell into a poll category “QAnon Doubters”, i.e. disagreed with most, but didn’t reject..
58% of Democrats were “ QAnon Rejectors”.

The fundamental question is why Heaven’s Gate was dismissed by media and polled America as simply crazy, while  QAnon was not? One believer, armed with a gun invaded a Washington, D.C. Pizza restaurant, to rescue children confined in its basement.  It had no basement and the police removed the believer.

Is the latter accepted by millions and the former by 45 because it’s related to political beliefs, i.e. QAnon arose as something of a supplement to the currently labeled “Big Lie”, that former president Trump actually won reelection, but Democratic fraud stole it? 

Or has QAnon become something of a game with secret codes and special vocabulary and the mystery of Q’s identity and fun to follow

Or is America in the 21st Century considerably more gullible than it was in the 20th. 

Who knows?

Tom Timberman is an Army vet, lawyer, former senior Foreign Service officer, adjunct professor at GWU, and economic development team leader or foreign government advisor in war zones. He is the author of four books, lectures locally, and at US and European universities. He and his wife are 24 year residents of Kent County.

Walter (Fritz) Mondale was my contemporary and my friend.

We first met during the summer of 1964 when he was Attorney General of Minnesota and a protégé of Hubert Humphrey, then a Senator from Minnesota and a contender to be Lyndon Johnson’s Vice President.  I was, more or less, a protégé of Iowa Governor Harold Hughes and one of his campaign managers for his re-election campaign.

The issue that brought Fritz and me together was the effort of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to have its delegates seated at the upcoming Atlantic City convention of the national Democratic Party, displacing the totally segregated delegation from Mississippi’s regular Democratic Party. This highly emotional effort had generated intense public interest. It also had captured the total attention of President Johnson, because Johnson, rightly or wrongly, believed that Robert Kennedy, then Johnson’s Attorney General, was actively seeking to displace him and was using the MFPD as fuel to blow up the convention and open it up to Kennedy.

Johnson needed to crush the Kennedy effort and he believed the key to that was to solve the MFDP problem without a floor fight.  And that meant finding an acceptable compromise.  So far, all efforts at compromise had failed and the convention was fast approaching.  Thus it was that Johnson approached two of his then strongest supporters, Humphrey and Hughes, and asked them to name two men to lead the fight for a compromise at the convention. The request to Humphrey was accompanied by a veiled promise and threat regarding his possible selection as Johnson’s Vice President.

Humphrey gave the task to Mondale, and Hughes gave the task to me. So, prior to the opening of the convention, Mondale was made chairman of a special five person committee that was charged with finding a compromise, and I was made counsel to that committee.  For five intense days and nights, we met, discussed and argued, negotiated with the MFDP leaders and their sponsors, and brought to bear all the pressure we could manage.

Ultimately, and just as the convention convened, we reached an agreement: MFDP would have just a few of its delegates seated as delegates “at large”,  and the regular and segregated Mississippi delegation would have to pledge support of our anti-segregation platform. Most importantly, the national Party would resolve that, in future, no segregated delegation would ever be seated. 

Johnson was delighted: A floor fight had been avoided, and, in his mind, Robert Kennedy’s plan had been frustrated. We all were rewarded, although some rewards were considerably better than others: Humphrey became Vice President; Mondale was appointed to take his place as Senator from Minnesota; and I, ultimately, was brought to the White House as a presidential assistant.

Fritz and I remained friends, even occasionally sharing dinners together at each other’s homes.

Years later, Fritz and I had a unique encounter.

My wife, Peggy, and I had been invited to a picnic at the waterfront home of our friends Arthur and Barbara Rothkopf. We had arrived on our sailboat which we anchored just offshore and rowed our dinghy into shore. Fritz Mondale and his wife, Joan were also there.

 This was in the late 1980s, several years after Mondale’s resounding defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1984. In that presidential election, Fritz lost every state except Minnesota and the District of Columbia, and he received only 40.6% of the popular vote. It was one of the most decisive political thrashings in American history.

When Fritz saw me, he said that he would like to look at our boat more closely. He asked if I would row him out, which I happily agreed to do. 

When he climbed on board, it was immediately apparent that he had no interest in the boat. Instead, to my surprise, he wanted to talk about his defeat by Reagan.  He began by briefly chiding me for not participating in his campaign, brushing aside my feeble explanation that, as a trial lawyer, I had been deeply involved in some ongoing litigation.  

Then he turned to what was really on his mind.

He told me that, even after all the years that had passed, he still could not stop himself from constantly reliving that campaign and what he thought of as the ignominy of his defeat. His never ending remorse caused him unrelenting mental pain, he said.  It was not just that he lost, but that he was so completely rejected. Before that, he had always succeeded in everything he had tried to accomplish, but there was no sugar coating what Reagan had done to him. He said that his feelings would not go away.

I sat with him, carefully listening to every word, for well over an hour; long enough so that my wife and others at the picnic were concerned about what was happening out on our boat where all they knew was that these two men were sitting in the cockpit talking, endlessly

Ultimately, Fritz stood up and asked me to row him back to shore. He was no happier and I was in despair that there was nothing that I could offer to ease the unending pain of this marvelous man who was my friend.

Sherwin Markman was a special assistant to LBJ until 1968. He went on to work as a senior trial lawyer for Hogan & Hartson until 1992. He is the author of a novel, “The Election”, and the editor of “Lyndon Johnson Remembered: An Intimate Portrait of a President.” He now lives on the Eastern Shore. 

 

 

Dr. David Fowler, the chief medical examiner of Maryland, is set to testify in George Floyd’s case for justice. Sadly, in 2018, he had declared that Anton Black’s killing was “accidental,” despite striking similarities between his killing and that of George’s.

In fact, there are many similarities between the lives of George Floyd and Anton Black.

They were known for having big dreams. When 46-year-old George Floyd was a teenager, he wanted to be a pro athlete. He was already a star athlete in high school. Similarly, 19-year-old Anton Black was a champion athlete in his high school. But what he wanted to do most was to model and act. He was young and had many interests. His possibilities were endless.

Children looked up to George Floyd. He was a mentor in his community. While his life had ups and downs, he learned from his mistakes. People respected him more because he overcame obstacles.

Anton Black was great with kids too. In fact, his young nieces and nephews adored him. He had a child on the way and would’ve made a good father. George Floyd was a father, too.

Most importantly, George Floyd and Anton Black were loved.

In a chillingly similar fashion, their lives were stolen from them. Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pinned George Floyd down, placing his knee on Floyd’s neck. Dr. Martin Tobin, a pulmonologist who reviewed medical records in George Floyd’s case, testified that there was virtually no way George Floyd could breathe properly. It came to the horrific point that Floyd used his fingers and knuckles as a last resort to try to get air. This lasted for 9 minutes and 29 seconds until he was killed.

In Anton Black’s case, then-Greensboro Police Officer Thomas Webster IV, Centreville Police Officer Dennis Lannon, Ridgely Police Chief Gary Manos, and a white resident pushed their weight on his slight frame while he was facedown for six minutes until he was killed. They pressed on his face, chest, and stomach. Like George Floyd, he struggled to breathe.

In the end, the white man’s weight on Anton Black and the ways they restrained him caused him to die of positional asphyxiation. Anton’s case is an eerily, and terrifyingly, similar police killing to George Floyd’s.

In their last moments, George Floyd called out to his mother and Anton Black cried for help from his mother. With his last breaths, Anton told her that he loved her. Black’s mother watched her son die on her front porch.

An unfortunate parallel in their lives, brought forth by reporting from The Intercept, is Dr. David Fowler who ruled Anton Black’s killing an “accident,” falsely claimed that a heart condition caused his death, and even went as far as to say that Black’s bipolar disorder was a contributing factor, rather than the actions of the officers making it impossible for him to breathe.

This same white man is now an expert witness in Floyd’s case for justice against Chauvin, expected to testify that Floyd was not killed by police. Again, he absolves the police, despite excruciating video evidence to the contrary.

What is important to note here is that, in both Anton and George’s deaths, there is video footage showing these police officers killing them. Yet, even though the world saw what happened, there are still extensive court hearings, debating, trying to excuse and cover up police responsibility for killing these men.

But even as Dr. David Fowler again defends the indefensible actions of police, in Chauvin’s trial, he is being sued by Anton Black’s family for his false autopsy report.

The police killing of Anton Black is part of a broader pattern of lack of accountability and systems of oppression that kill Black and Brown people. The Intercept reports that between 2013 and 2019, the Maryland’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified 30 percent of deaths involving a law enforcement officer as “accidents,” “undetermined,” or due to “natural causes.” This is a startling fact that puts all of those reasons for death into question.

Far too many Black and Brown lives are cut short because of a racist, oppressive system that is being allowed to continue. Policing must be reimagined now. It cannot continue like this. George Floyd and Anton Black’s lives mattered.

Whether it be in the courts or in Annapolis, the community is advocating for change to save Black lives.

Rene’ C. Swafford, Esq. is the legal counsel for the Black Family.  Art by Lori Yates.

 

Each April, our nation celebrates the role of community colleges. In 2021, community colleges are faced with aiding in the recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic. As a regional community college, Chesapeake College is well-equipped to help the residents and businesses of our region recover from the pandemic and emerge stronger.

As health professions students learn in our labs again and student athletes return to competition this spring, we see signs of hope at Chesapeake. We look forward to in-person – though altered — commencement ceremonies in May for both our 2020 and 2021 graduates. Planning is underway for more in-person classes in the fall with increased activity on campus scheduled in the summer.

The past year has been a difficult one for students around the world, and ours are no exception. Despite dealing with illness, loss, isolation, and uncertainty our students persevered. They kept pushing forward because they believe in a brighter future. 

Our student body is diverse with individual needs and goals. We support the dreams of all with a variety of programs. Chesapeake offers classes for those who need English as a Second Language or to earn a high school diploma through GED. We serve local industry and individuals with workforce training designed to efficiently prepare students for careers in health care and skilled trades. Still, other students begin their journeys at Chesapeake, transfer to four-year universities across the country, then go on to earn doctorates or law degrees.

While serving currently enrolled students is our primary focus, serving the community at large is central to our mission. Chesapeake is critical to the educational development and economic viability of the Eastern Shore. By tending to both needs, Chesapeake can lead our region to better days ahead.  We enthusiastically accept this responsibility and are grateful to have the continued support of our five counties.

In the last year we have served our community through our partnership with University of Maryland Shore Regional Health by hosting drive-thru Covid-19 testing on our campus. This month, UMS will open a Covid vaccination site on our campus. Chesapeake nursing students are providing support to the vaccination site.

In the coming months, our Cambridge Center – located in the heart of downtown – will be the site of an American Job Center to serve the needs of Dorchester County residents.

With new grants and funding sources available, more students will receive financial assistance for both transfer programs and workforce training at Chesapeake.

Chesapeake is ready and able to help the Eastern Shore recover from the last year and build a better future.

Community colleges see a community need and respond quickly to help solve the problems. We find a path forward and bring our communities along. Like our students, we’re better than still standing. We’re standing strong and moving forward.

Dr. Clifford Coppersmith is the president of Chesapeake College.

On March 18, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a new operating license for the Conowingo Dam after eight years of lawsuits, court battles, and public outcry. Exelon Corporation, owner and operator of the Conowingo Dam hydroelectric power plant, will hold the new license for the next 50 years. Unfortunately, this license fails to meaningfully address the pollution behind the dam or to hold Exelon accountable for its fair share of mitigating this major threat to the Bay. This is a tragedy for the health of the Chesapeake Bay and our rivers here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

In addition to generating hydroelectricity, Conowingo Dam acts as a catchment for everything that flows downriver from New York and Pennsylvania. When the floodgates open, water carries all that trash, debris, nutrient-laden sediment, and toxic substances into the Bay and onto our shorelines. The Eastern Shore bears the brunt of this flow, suffering navigational hazards, shorelines choked with debris, and oyster bars and underwater grass beds smothered with sediment. All of this pollution sets back our progress to achieving a healthier Bay.

The solution to this problem should be twofold: hold New York and Pennsylvania accountable for reducing pollution that flows down the Susquehanna River; and require Exelon to contribute to the cleanup costs made necessary by the dam from which they profit. No one should be allowed to profit from a public natural resource without having to contribute meaningfully to the protection and restoration of that resource. However, that is now exactly what FERC is allowing to happen.

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) determined that Exelon, the most profitable utility company in the country, should be held accountable for $172 million annually for its share of the costs to clean up the pollution behind the dam. Then, MDE inexplicably agreed to the terms of this new operating license, which only require Exelon to contribute $1.22 million per year, or less than 1% of what is needed, from the company to protect the Bay’s health. The brunt of the cleanup costs will now have to be shouldered by Maryland taxpayers.

It is inexcusable that Maryland watermen, boaters, homeowners, and taxpayers have to suffer the consequences of pollution flowing down the Susquehanna, and are now responsible for paying for the cleanup resulting from the dam. MDE and FERC have put the interests of a for-profit company before the welfare of their citizens and the health of a public resource. MDE claimed this was the best they could do, and that “something is better than nothing.” But less than 1% of something is essentially nothing. The March 18 ruling codifies MDE’s dereliction of duty to meaningfully address the issues at Conowingo and adequately protect Maryland’s waterways and communities.

This issue is of utmost importance to Eastern Shore communities. Over the past few years, ShoreRivers has become a leading voice on this issue in the region. The organization has hosted town hall meetings, designed billboards to raise awareness, and worked on legislation at the state and federal levels. This outreach generated thousands of comments and phone calls imploring local, state, and federal agencies to protect citizens’ interests.

ShoreRivers will continue to fight this flawed re-licensing through every avenue at its disposal. The pollution behind the Conowingo Dam poses one of the most significant threats to the Bay’s recovery, to our maritime communities and economy, and to all of the restoration work that Marylanders have worked so hard to implement.

Zack Kelleher
Sassafras Riverkeeper
ShoreRivers

“Of course,” we say, yet the massive polarization and divide in America are based on loyalty to personality and attraction to policies and promises….not core ideals. When the majority of Americans vote according to their sacred beliefs, our country gets sound leadership, and the United States becomes more united. Because our nation is a rare democracy founded upon shared ideals which most Americans try to live by. Our founding principles like freedom, justice for all, honesty, and commitment to the common good are America’s soul.

How do you confirm that your core values are driving your vote? Here are a few easy tests to confirm that answer. Bring to mind the person who most profoundly shaped your character during your formative years. For many, that “ most influential person” is a parent, a teacher or coach, or maybe a close friend or another family member. We all have someone who helped shape our core beliefs and behavior as we grew up.

Picture that person who had the greatest impact on you. And then write down the most important core principles they lived by—the ones you most admired. Perhaps you identified with their honesty, kindness, or decency. Or you were impressed that they were inventive, sly, or rebellious. Or it was their open, trusting, and respectful nature you deeply admired.
All that matters is that you pick the traits that you most admired. Jot them down.

Growing up, my hero was Milton Hershey, the chocolate magnate, who saved my life and the lives of countless orphans. As best I can, I have tried to emulate his core values of:

HONESTY, RESPECT ( for all ), and SERVICE above self.

These are now my aspirational ideals. I use them to pick my friends, my priorities, and presidents.

Back to your core values list. Are you applying them as a critical screen to pick our next president and congressional leaders? Sure, other factors like policies, programs, and promises make a difference. But nothing drives behavior like a leader’s core values… Just as it does for us. We all know that politicians can and do say just about anything. But what they stand for and how they treat people, that is driven by who they fundamentally are.

Self-assessment #2. When we pick our “ Greatest Presidents Ever,” we tend to heavily weigh their character. What they stood for, not just what they said and did. What core traits do you most admire in your “ Best President Ever”? More importantly, are you requiring these character strengths of our national leaders in this election?

And a final reality check of one’s core values. What sacred principles and behaviors do you want your children and grandchildren to embrace? The “Shadow of the Leader” tends to be cast further and deeper than we ever suspect. And children are especially susceptible to the behavior modeled by our national leaders. It can influence their lives forever.

So, for your family, community, and your country, what cherished values are you voting from and for in this vital election? Your voice and vote matter more than ever! And character counts. Our shared and sacred values are America’s soul. And all are at risk.

Johnny O’Brien is President Emeritus of the Milton Hershey School and founder and CEO of Renaissance Leadership, Inc. He lives in Easton, Maryland.