LTE: Meaningful photo

Editor, Gettysburg Times,

On our living room wall at home, we keep a framed black and white photograph hanging. It’s a treasured family heirloom, a gift to my father from Paul Vathas, a United Press International photographer active in south central Pennsylvania in the 50s and 60s. The photograph shows Dwight Eisenhower and Jack Kennedy during the transition between administrations. By the trees in the background you know it’s a winter day, but the sun is shining and both men are smiling. Ike has one hand on a hip, a favorite pose. Kennedy has his right hand jammed into a suit jacket pocket. Clearly, they are in the middle of a good conversation and clearly both men are having a good time.

Those were not perfect times. These were not perfect men. But they were decent men, each a hero in his own way. Each ready to face facts and govern accordingly. And I never get tired of looking at that photograph.

Now, of course, we seem to be living in a very different time, one where dark fantasies and demonization of one’s opponents, rather than facts, seem to be driving our politics. But American democracy depends on facing facts. America as we have known it over the years, our health and safety, even our very survival, all depend on facing facts even when they defy our expectations and prove us wrong.

We all have some tough decisions to make as we move forward into 2021. Will we face facts or let ourselves be dragged along by fantasies? A lot depends on how each of us answers that question.

Will Lane
Gettysburg