Our platform calls for, not only making more tangible amends to the Native Americans for the absolutely unconscionable genocide and theft of land committed by our forefathers — but it also calls for much more strident attempts to build bridges, and learn from the Native American culture… I talked with Bruce Thumm in Findlay, Ohio today. He married a Seneca Indian woman and has two sons who have dual citizenship, as card carrying Senecas and citizens of the U.S. Mr. Thumm told me: “Our ancestors killed more than 10 million Natives… and of the 800 treaties that were created — not one was honored.” [Talk about a ‘terrorist nation,’ huh.] One of Mr. Thumm’s sons is an artist. He painted an American flag as he interpreted it would be seen through the eyes of a Native. His painting had the red stripes bleeding into the white, representing the attrocities at: Wounded Knee, Bull Run, Little Big Horn, Trail of Tears… The flag was featured in the Governor’s Art Show… Mr. Thumm said through his marriage he started “to learn of their (Seneca’s) ways and spirituality.” He was deeply impressed. For instance, he said the Natives didn’t believe in owning land, “the land owned them, and they were functioning in harmony with the land and nature.” Question: If we were doing that, do you think we’d have all the environmental problems (global warming, vanishing species, acid rain…) we have now? I don’t.
11/2/04
I was talking with Pastor Steve Yoder of Bluffton’s First Mennonite Church early this morning. I said since voting is so important in our society, I believe this should be considered a National Holiday that everybody gets off. “Yeah,” Pastor Yoder said. “We could call it: Democratic Day.” I liked that… I then went to vote myself (pen in hand) with my son Joseph, 7, and daughter Sarah, 9. They excitedly stood in line with me. A fellow Blufftonite happened by, saw the kids and smiled: “Aren’t they too young to vote?” I said they were, but this was a not too veiled attempt to “stuff the ballot box.” I said my only concern was they’d write in “Daddy,” instead of my “proper name.” Sarah, who just turned 9, looked up and said: “I’d write Dad, not Daddy!” Oh, how quick they grow up.
10/31/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. A cluster of last minute e-mails of support have come in. A pastor of a small church in Kentucky wrote that he was struck with our message of “simplicity, concern for life, compassion for the poor…” A college student from Alabama wrote: “I happened to run across your website (recently) and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Here was this man who I honeslty felt would not only keep America and the rest fo the world from getting worse, but actually make both drastically BETTER!” Another man from Rome, Georgia, sent a copy of an e-mail he just sent to “family and friends.” Part of it read: “Yet I truly believe that my vote for Joe Schriner will mean, and perhaps signify, more than just another vote for a candidate I am uncomfortable with. What’s more, my conscience will be clear as I leave the voting booth. I now can’t wait for Tuesday.” (Me either.) What’s more, he ended the letter with: “I’m Tom Farmer, and I approve of this message.” [I loved that.]
10/30/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. We were greeted today back in Bluffton by a front page article in the Findlay Courier newspaper about our campaign. Reporter Steve Dillon, who has written several good articles on our campaign over the years, noted: “After logging about 15,000 miles on the campaign trail this year alone, Schriner would be exhausted — if he ever slowed down.” [Or ran short of coffee.] Later, Steve noted: Schriner said people frunstrated with the two-party system should vote outside the box. “Those who don’t like the system have to vote outside the system if they are ever going to see it change,” [Schriner] said. “People need to ask themselves if they are voting for a short term solution, or a long term agenda.” The article ended with: This weekend, after three years of almost non-stop campaigning, Schriner is expected to return to Bluffton. On Tuesday night he plans to spend time with his family, raking leaves or working on the final draft of his next book. Through it all, Schriner has maintained a sense of humor. “On Monday we’re going to be stumping in Bluffton,” he declared. “The way we see it, if we don’t carry Bluffton, we don’t have much of a chance to carry the country.”
10/29/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. This morning we drove into Cleveland for a whistle-stop in front of the West Side Market on the near west side. As we pulled up, a Cleveland documentary crew just happened to be out in front of the market interviewing “average citizens” about there take on the presidential election. When the crew looked up to, quite unexpectedly, see the actual “average Joe” mobile pull up, I mean, how perfect was this timing? After the crew got the quintessential “average presidential candidate’s” take on things, we rolled the banner out and went at it, enthusiastically calling to passersby, passing out literature and so on… We had worked up an appetite, and afterward walked about this absolutely fabulous market made up of booths run by people from all different nationalities. (If you long for diversity, come to this place!)… We then made a stop in Westlake, Ohio where President Bush had just been the day before for a rally. We, however, didn’t go to Westlake to campaign; but rather to meet with one of our kids favorite relatives, aunt Kathy– who owns Kathy’s Kolacke’s and Bakery Shop. (Kathy has a sign that says: “You are not what you eat!”). Our whole Health Care prevention policy focus goes out the window whenever we stop here… From Kathy’s, we went to West Park, Ohio to meet with Augi and Trena Pacetti. Wonderful couple. Augi teaches a class in “social justice” to students at Padua High School. He said he focuses on consistent life ethic topics that run the gamut from Third World poverty, to the environment, to discrimination… He said he tries to continually raise student awareness about things like “sweat shop” practices in the Third World so the students can be catalysts to try to help reverse these trends. Augi said the students had recently heard a talk by a man who was documenting sweat shop practices in Indonesia, including the plight of workers at a Nike Shoe plant there. Augi said the man explained the average worker in these types of plants made the equivalent of $1.50 a day, which meant their families had very little, if anything, for the basics in food, medicine… Meanwhile, professional athletes here who endorse the Nike lines, make millions. A disparity Augi tries to make clear to his students… After meeting with the Pacetti’s, I drove back into Cleveland to sit in on a talk by Gus Schumacher, former Under Secretary of Agriculture during the Clinton administration. He touted a program in the state of Maine where some 30,000 elderly are going to some 300 local farms for fresh produce, etc. What’s more, the elderly are allowed to bring their grandchildren, and children, to help work the farm for educational purposes, and so on. In return, the participating farmers get subsidy checks for participating in the program. Schumacher said besides connecting more people to the land through programs like this, we must also come up with programs to “grow a new crop of farmers,” because so many of the rural youth are now moving off the land. One of the Ohio farmers in the room tonight said with this exodus, and the demise of the small family farm in general, we are losing more than just the farm(s). “The culture of helping (often so prevelant in old rural America) is going down the tubes,” he said.
10/28/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I was interviewed by a reporter from National Public Radio at the State House in Columbus today. Afterward, Sarah, Joseph and I sort of snuck in on part of a school tour of the State House. We joined just as the guide had stopped on a big floor outline of Ohio, complete with different marble tile outlines of all 88 counties (in which we have now — mostly — campaigned, twice). Sarah, Joseph (and I) learned today that Ashtabula County is the largest county in Ohio, Lake County (which is right next to Ashtabula County) is the smallest, and Allen County (where we’re from) is represented with green marble because (I told the kids) that green is representative of the rural character of the area. Well, I didn’t know… This afternoon I gave a talk to students involved with an alternative high school in downtown Columbus. It’s called: the “Christopher Program.” It was a rather lively session, with the students becoming quite animated as they asked questions, debated topics. Teacher Todd Stanley told me afterward that the course, “The Human Side of Politics,” allows each student to spend one day a week actually working on area campaigns. He said as a result, some 90% of the students now demonstrate an actual “passion for politics.” Stanley continued that this type of class orientation is termed: “authentic learning.” (I couldn’t help but think how more students, not just at alternative schools, would tremendously benefit from similar types of “authentic learning,” no matter what the field.) Tonight: We traveled north to Ashtabula County, not to see how big it is, but to meet with Molly Linehan in Geneva. Molly, who has a strong heart for social justice, was a “Rotary Scholar” who went to India as part of an ongoing Rotary Program to help foster more: “world unity.” She said she was struck with many of the similarities between the Islamic Religion and Christianity. Molly said she was also struck with the extreme abject poverty she saw in India (which seemed so much more dire, and far reaching, than in the U.S.). What’s more, she said she was disheartened by some of the attitude toward child labor there. And in general, she added: “The poor truly are getting poorer in India.”
10/27/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. While in Cincinnati, we met with Drew Peters who coordinates programs for the Dorothy Day House for Xavier University students. Peters said students here have spearheaded intitiatives to help with: the environment; AIDS in Africa; fair trade; peace; human rights… Peters invited us back to his two story home, which he shares with three other single men. They live together to share expenses, energy use and develop deeper community. One of the roomates told me while in Portland, Oregon several years ago, he participated in a Shared Housing Program. A computer data base would match those looking for house shares. He said for a year he ended up living with a 96-year-old woman who needed help, companionship and so on. Note: Drew Peters is a lacross player, but not a parent of young children, yet. And as a “campaign donation” this morning, gave our children two junior lacross sticks and a lacross ball. A lacross ball that keeps whizzing by me as we’re traveling down I-75 for a whistle-stop event in downtown Cincinnati today. Thanks Drew.
10/26/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. We did a whistle-stop at Court House Plaza in downtown Dayton today. Dayton’s NBC News was there. The reporter asked our daughter Sarah, 9, what she thought about her Dad running for president. Sarah said: “I like his message.” The reporter smiled and asked Sarah to talk about one of the “messages” she most liked (I’m sure expecting a cute, well, nine-year-old response.) Sarah said: “I like his stance against abortion. My Dad has a bumper sticker that says ‘He’s a child, not a choice…’ And I think that’s good.” Bravo Sarah!… This evening I was asked to participate in a round table discussion at Xavier University in Cincinnati on: “The Young Catholic Vote.” The topic of nuclear weapons came up. I asked: “What if we let the weapons inspectors into, say, Montana — what would they find?” (Answer: Some 2,000 weapons of mass destruction aimed all over the world.) “To the rest of the world, wouldn’t we look like a terrorist nation?” I posed… Tonight there was also a brief talk by a graduate student from Harvard University who was traveling the country trying to raise awareness about: Catholic Social Teaching and how it tied into the vote. Greg Mancini said there is more than just one “Pro-Life” oriented issue to consider when voting. He said some of these other “Pro-Life issues” include how we are responding to: the environment; AIDs in the Developing Countries; military decisions; the poor… Mr. Mancini called this a “consistent Pro-Life ethic.”
10/25/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. I gave a talk tonight at Bluffton University’s Nuefield Hall here in my hometown. It was a “Town Hall” style meeting and the interaction was quite lively. At one point I explained our administration would push for a simplified, one-page tax form (that is, if we continued with the income tax) that would also have an empty pie chart on it. The taxpayer, in turn, would get to divide the pie chart up: designating what % of his/her tax money would go to which program categories: environment, education, military, social programs, etc. “I mean, wouldn’t that be a lot more democratic?” I asked. What’s more, this might inspire more people to spend time researching existing, and proposed, programs in various areas. Which, ultimately, would increase their political awareness, involvement and so on. While the initial response, for the most part, was enthusiastic — there was some hesitancy. A couple students suggested that, for instance, there should be a base of money for each program and then taxpayers could get a say in, for instance, 50% of where their tax dollars go. (Some students were concerned not enough money would go to the environment, programs for the poor, and so on.) Note: President Bush is speaking in nearby Findlay two days from now and an Army helicopter was sweeping the I-75 corridor here, I’m sure looking for potential terrorist sites, etc. While the helicopter was a good two miles off, as we approached the Bluffton exit on I-75 this afternoon in the “average Joe” mobile — decked out in all it’s Old Nave stars and stripes regalia — the helicopter abruptly banked and then flew directly over us. And I’m sure the pilot was probably thinking: ‘What the heck is this…?’ I, in turn, waved.
10/24/04
Average Joe Buckeye Blitz cont. Today the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper ran a rather lengthy “Voter’s Guide.” They noted there would be four presidential candidates on Ohio’s ballot and six official “write-in” presidential candidates — of which I was one. In the story, reporter Grant Segall noted I said of our campaign: “We’re influencing America.” And that’s exactly what we are trying to do, one town, one person… at a time.