To the editor:
In 1968, Sly and the Family Stone released a song titled “Everyday People.” This happened at the end of President Lyndon Johnson’s term and at the time of President Richard Nixon’s election. My son was born that year and music was upbeat and full of life.
“Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong
My own beliefs are in my song
The butcher, the banker, the drummer, and then
Makes no difference what group I’m in
… I am no better and neither are you
We are the same, whatever we do … ”
We are everyday people.
In August of 1974, President Nixon resigned from office due to succumbing to temptation and his own insecurity about being able to win the 1972 election. He forgot he was everyday people.
In life and in elections, we are everyday people. No one has more human worth than another. The primary difference between us remains in how much we care about the work we are paid to complete and the people who are being served the products we produce.
In a conversation with a chair of a medical school department at UCLA, I explained that I did not divide people in value based on their wealth, color, or skills, such as those of a doctor. I based it on how they gave effort to these skills so that everyone could succeed.
The janitor who worked with dedication so the laboratories would be clean is equal to the M.D. who works day and night to pursue research that would save more lives. Both brought God-given skills to the table, but neither every doctor nor every janitor is driven to provide their best. We are all only everyday people.
In hiring and in elections, I seek the one who recognizes their own weaknesses, and the need for a diverse team with the best chance of meeting the needs of the people. They must be good listeners, they must equally value every group in society, relish the people who have Olympic wins and losses, and understand what makes a real hero and how loss of life is a sacrifice.
In the case of the highest office, I expect they would bring to the table direct experience in serving the people, as that is the job they are vying to fill. Everyday people have run and won that office. Everyday people keep representative democracy alive.
Jarryl Larson
Edgecomb
