My third-grade teacher would not be pleased with Sen. Hagerty | Opinion – Tennessean

Sam Hatcher| Guest columnist

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Re: "Its time to reopen US Capitol to public," by Sen. Bill Hagerty, March 9,

Mrs. Kirkpatrick, my third-grade teacher at McClain School, always lectured the class that you address those older than youyou know, people your parents agewith Mr. or Mrs. And that you never referred to the president of the United States without using his title before his name.

Mrs. Kirkpatrick played the piano at every Rotary Club meeting. Her husband owned a small shoe store,ironically named Kirkpatricks, on Lebanons Public Square, and the couple lived in a wood-frame house on West Main Street. I dont know this for sure, but I would guess they were both Democrats, because at the time almost everyone in Wilson County was.

Besides reading and arithmetic, lessons in respect, humility and gratitude were taught daily by Mrs. Kirkpatrick to her class of 8-year-olds. There were about 30 of us, as I recall.

The morning began with a prayer, pledge to the flag, a song with Mrs. Kirkpatrick accompanying on the piano, and usually a word or two about being kind to others, the Golden Rule, or as we might say today, having respect for another.She led the class in the morning song and ranked right up there with some of the best as she would belt out America the Beautiful or The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

I remember she often would go around the class, one row at a time, giving each student the opportunity to speak about a news item from home. Johnny may have had a new baby sister to report on, while Betsys dad had gotten a promotion at the woolen mills, and Jerrys mom was sick with the flu.

I dont think we realized it at the time, but Mrs. Kirkpatrick taught us a lot.

She recognized that our faith should come first; that we should honor our country; show respect for others; care about one another; and live our lives in a meaningful way.

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I think its likely that the late Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. had a Mrs. Kirkpatrick somewhere along the way in his schooling, as did the late Gov. Ned McWherter, recently retired Sen. Lamar Alexander and several others from both political parties who through the years may have disagreed with their rivals or the president, for that matter but did so with respect.

It seems many of those in high office today go out of their way to be disrespectful, to do harmand to urge division.

A good example recently was an op-ed, "Common sense tells us it's time to reopen U.S. Capitol to the public,"by US.Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee.

His reasoning, expressed in the first few paragraphs of his guest column, has significant merit and should be heard by the appropriate decision-makers in charge.

But after the opening, Hagertys message turned sour. It became an epistle ranting totally off topic about Democrats and the Democratic Party.

As with many on both sides of the aisle, Hagerty saw an opportunity to attempt to defame those with whom he disagrees with harsh and perhaps even untrue words and broaden the already great divide we all are experiencing in our state and nation.

He saw the opportunity and seized it.

Perhaps his message to reopen the Capitol would be better received if he would present his position, as Mrs. Kirkpatrick would suggest, more nicely, showing respect for his colleagues.

Hagerty and others like him in both political parties need to understand that many of their constituents, despite what the polls show, would like them to be fair, truthful, respectfuland play well with others.

I can assure the senatorthat Mrs. Kirkpatrick would not be pleased.

Sam Hatcher, a former newspaper editor and publisher, lives in Lebanon and works with a number of entities in the area of community relations with his company, First Light Communications. He is the author of Heismans First Trophy, a book about the football game between Cumberland University and Georgia Tech in which Tech beat Cumberland 222-0.

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My third-grade teacher would not be pleased with Sen. Hagerty | Opinion - Tennessean