Attack dogs span the ages when it comes to politics

Once I sat in a group of people who were just talking, each saying whatever they wanted to. A woman spoke. It was her turn. What she said almost knocked me out of my chair. She said, "George Washington was a drunkard." This was before the times we are now acquainted with when someone runs for office the "hate dogs" start to attack him.

George Washington was my hero. I wasn't about to let someone besmirch his reputation. "How could you possibly know he was a drunkard?" I countered . "He was the father of our country. He was an honorable person. He was..."

She interrupted me, "You don't know everything, Luella. I just know it. I've heard it. I've read it. I believe it."

I looked at the faces around the room. Surely someone will stand up for me. Surely someone will agree with me. The room was quiet. Not a person spoke.

I looked my adversary in the face. She was trying not to smirk. I began to stutter, "But I...but you..." Suddenly another person stood, a woman respected by many. "Let us decide what refreshments we shall have at our next meeting. Any suggestions? How about..." And murmuring filled the room as all the people except me began to discuss apple pie, chocolate cake, ice cream.

The years have now gone by. That day I learned a lesson. Attack dogs seem to pop up in any group of people. They may be positioned in a meeting to purposefully disrupt. They may even be 'planted' by someone. They may just want to draw attention to themselves.

Think back to our last presidential election. Remember some of the things that happened. We are much more sophisticated these days but the attack dogs are still with us. The problem is that people would rather stay in their shells and talk about apple pie and ice cream and let somebody else stand up to the attack dogs.

Was George Washington a drunkard? I suppose it was possible, but I doubt it. He was a very busy man trying to hold our fledgling country together. Here's a short quote from Mr. Washington, "The people must remain ever vigilant against tyrants masquerading as public servants."

I never saw my attack dog again. I'd rather read the wisdom of Mr. Washington. Thank you very much.

Luella Dow is a Cheney-area author. She can be reached at [email protected].