Dollars and Sense

Tolbert Rowe brings his thoughts on financing and his common sense every month.

Mr. Rowe is Vice President/Lending for Bay Capital Mortgage Corp. with offices in Easton and Annapolis. He has lived in Caroline for his entire life and supports the county by volunteering in a variety of ways. He currently lives near Greensboro with his wife Jeanne

and daughter Kelsey.

As we celebrate the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I find myself reflecting on our countries’ bicentennial 50 years ago.
In 1976, I was a 17-year-old looking ahead to being a high school senior and going on to college to get a degree in Political Science and US history at some college or university. At that point I had no idea where I would end up. By Caroline County standards I was a city boy, I lived in Denton, but I aspired to be a cool farm dude/redneck and worked on the Albert White farm in Ridgely… now the sewage treatment facility.
With my fellow “farm boys,” I rode to Easton to cruise the bowling alley parking lot in my 1969 Dodge Pickup equipped with a gun rack, CB radio and glass pack muffler, and we were really not too concerned about the future of the United States of America. Life was good, and my future was bright.
Nationally, our country was in a state of recovery from the years of the Vietnam War, the fallout of the Watergate Scandal, the gas crisis, civil rights movement, and an overwhelming distrust of government. Americans had their differences, but it was also a time of pride, purpose, and unity. We were ready to celebrate not only 200 years of our history, but also ready to move on into a new era of peace and prosperity.
Every community had a bicentennial committee that planned events to celebrate where we had come from as a country. Flags were everywhere and on everything. Parades, plays, pageants, and concerts were prevalent in every corner of our country. Historic sites were flooded with visitors. Patriotism was on full display, regardless of the political climate at the time.
And the political climate had been messy. Bipartisan support demanded accountability from President Nixon over the Watergate Scandal. Democrat presidents had led us into the Vietnam War, but Congressional Democrats opened an inquiry into that war. Although from different political parties, all branches of government were able to achieve some kind of consensus to govern. They put honor and American principles above political partisanship.
We don’t see that 50 years later during the 250th Anniversary of the United States. Political parties will not negotiate an outcome if less than 100% of their position is not possible. It is either “my way or the highway” with each political party. There are two different organizations planning events around the same 250th anniversary: Trump’s Freedom 250 and the U.S Semiquincentennial Commission’s America250.
I had a political science professor who said in the early 1980’s that politically 20% of the electorate will be on the far right and 20% will be on the far left. The 60% in the middle are the ones who can and do truly influence elections for federal offices. Where is this middle group’s celebration of the 250th anniversary?
I say it is time for a viable third party to come forth and advocate for the 60% in the middle of the political spectrum. If you agree, say “Bull Moose Party!”