To make a difference in election, longtime Missouri teachers reach out to 600 friends | Opinion
Longtime Missouri music teacher Howard Bell signed his letter this way: “H. Bell, Citizen, Veteran, Educator, Patriot and Voter, age 92.”
Naturally, this got my attention, as did his purpose in writing. Which was to say that he and his wife Zelia, a veteran high school math teacher and his college sweetheart at Central Missouri State, intended to send a letter to 600 or so of those with whom they’ve been in touch over the last nine decades, in 10 states.
In this missive, he said, they would explain why they feel so much more urgently about this upcoming presidential election than they had about any of the 17 previous presidential elections in which they’d accompanied one another to the polls.
Here is an excerpt from the letter the Bells did send — 350 by email and 250 by post — all but begging their friends to 1) support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz 2) forward the letter to all of their own friends and 3) help anyone who might need a ride to vote:
“My wife Zelia and I have been affiliated with both political parties over the years, voting for the individuals we felt represented the qualities of character and intelligence most effective for our local, state and national governments. This year is important to us as we avoid those candidates who espouse autocracy. … A ‘chain letter’ approach can offer a valiant effort to … preserve our democracy.”
The letter also includes a detailed document comparing the records of Donald Trump as a businessman and president and Kamala Harris as a prosecutor, U.S. senator and Joe Biden’s vice president.
Contact from a friend can change minds
It is fact-checked, passionate and yet concise, in just one page dealing with just about every issue we face, while also including a passage from the Gospel of Mark, and less grandly, this unattributed quote: “I am just sick of Trump.”
What I most admire about what the Bells are doing this campaign season is not that I agree with their conclusions, though I do.
Instead, it’s that these nonagenarians are not leaving it to others to make a difference in November.
As retirees, “putting a few hundred” into this effort was not done on a whim, Howard said. “We’re not destitute, but we’re careful.” And the dozens of responses they’ve received makes them feel it was worth it.
Face-to-face contact, we know, still matters more than any number of ads, mailers and calls. And what matters more than anything else is hearing from someone you know and have reason to trust.
The Bells’ own three daughters, all of whom once supported Trump, did not do so in ‘20 and will not be doing so this year, either, their parents said.
While it’s true that very few voters are truly undecided, there are many more who might not vote at all, but could be persuaded to do so if someone they respect makes the case.
And to me, one thing that the Bells’ letter says other than what’s on the page is that we can all do something.
When I visited the Bells a few days ago in their apartment in Kansas City, they were excited about what they’d heard back from their mailing so far: Someone in their building had forwarded it to her mailing list of hundreds of senior women, a bunch of their former students had responded with enthusiasm, and none of the few negative responses they’d received included any curses or name-calling. The most irate of these said, “Don’t send me any more of your lies.”
That in itself is remarkable.
Rarely voted straight ticket until Trump
Howard was born in Independence and Zelia in Tipton, Missouri. They married in 1953 and have been voting together ever since. “Eisenhower was our first” presidential vote, over Adlai Stevenson in 1956, he said. Until Trump ran for president, they had rarely voted a straight ticket for either party.
While serving in the Army for two years, between 1953 and 1955, Howard played in an Army band in Texas. Later, he taught and conducted instrumental and vocal music in five states where Zelia taught, too.
He conducted the marching band at Indiana University, which has one of the best music programs in the country, and developed a 150-member marching band at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, before they and their three daughters moved back to Missouri to be near family.
What moved Zelia to action, she says, was “Trump’s despicable remarks about immigrants. It galls me the way he talks about people. They have no plan to improve things.”
“I’ve watched him since he was young,” her husband put in, “and he’s a threat.”
Howard Bell, citizen and voter, says he’s hopeful about the Democratic ticket now, while Zelia Bell is “holding my breath,” because Harris’ election is “my biggest wish.”
“We have to do our share,” he said. Whatever happens, they will know that they did.
“Talk to your friends and neighbors,” Hillary Clinton said at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. “Do something!” Michelle Obama said on Tuesday. “Let’s get to work!” said her husband.
Howard and Zelia Bell already have.
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 5:08 AM.
