Bob Stannard: What’s love got to do with it? - vtdigger.org

This commentary is by Bob Stannard of Manchester, an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.

There's nothin' you can know that isn't known

Nothin' you can see that isn't shown

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

It's easy

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need — Lennon/McCartney

There are times in the life of a columnist when writing a bimonthly column comes quite easily. Then there are the other times — the times when you struggle to find the right topic to write about. This is one of those times.

What hot topic is in the news that is controversial enough for me to care to write 650 words about? The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine? Easy pickings. Rep. Liz Cheney’s pronouncement this past Sunday that the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex, aka The 1 / 6 Committee, now has enough information to formally prosecute former President Trump on conspiracy charges. The Committee, however, is split on whether or not to send its decision to prosecute to the Department of Justice. Maybe later on this one.

There’s the news today about a new California company, Deep Isolation, that wants to bury the leftover nuclear waste at the former Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, Vermont. Their idea is to drill a vertical hole a mile deep. Then drill horizontal holes to store the spent, radioactive waste. If this doesn’t come under “What could possibly go wrong” I don’t know what does. (Disclaimer: I worked to close this plant.)

There’s always the calculating, divisive governor from Florida, Ron DeSantis, the man who promotes hate. He hates the word “gay.” He now hates Disney. He has hate in his heart for just about anyone who’s not a white nationalist. But is his hate real or just an act?  He’s a bright guy. I’d go with the latter. 

That’s not the case with many Americans today. There’s a whole lot of hate going on in America right now and one of the major political parties is all about it. They get it that hate serves to divide us and that a nation divided is a nation more easily conquered, either by our enemies or from within. 

But I’m sick of hate and fear dominating our lives. I’m a product (or perhaps byproduct) of the 1960s. That was an era that had plenty of strife, discourse, violence and hate, but there was also a fair amount of love to be had. Kids were protesting an illegal “conflict” in Vietnam. That debacle did serve to divide the country, but we had music; music that shouted “Love one another right now …” from the mountaintops.

So after thinking long and hard about this column, I’ve decided to write about love. On Sunday morning I awoke in my daughter’s house. I thought I was the only one up, but it turned out that my 7-year-old grandson, Zachariah, was already on the couch. He was watching TV.  

I sat down with him and said, “Good morning, Zach.” He said, “Hi, Bob-O.” Then, without words, he laid his head down on my lap, reached over and took my hand in his and went on with watching TV. 

This tiny, spontaneous, loving act displayed in a nearly subconscious way almost reduced me to tears. If a 7-year-old boy can show this kind of unsolicited, unscripted love and affection, then why can’t the rest of us? I believe that love and hate reside inside all of us. Hate seems ready at the quick. 

We can learn a lot from kids and grandkids. They have the wonderful ability to express their love with no great fanfare. I think that’s how it’s supposed to be. I’ll get back on track next column. For now, all I need is love.

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Bob Stannard: What’s love got to do with it? - vtdigger.org
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