As I go forward with my campaign, I find that more often than not, people want to find out how I am likely to handle certain issues that will come before me as a Circuit Court Judge. Rather than trying to discuss a long list of specific issues, I will often tell folks that I am best described as “old school”. Although most people understand what I mean in using that term, some have asked me for a more detailed description. “Old School” is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as referring to “someone that is old fashioned or traditional”. While that certainly is an accurate description of my views on a lot of different issues, I think some specific examples might be appropriate. Accordingly, I offer the following examples of Old School characteristics.
Old School understands that parenting is the most difficult and the most important job that any of us will ever have. He appreciates that it is his responsibility to raise his children to be polite, respectful and considerate of others. He knows that it is his obligation to teach his children right from wrong, even where the best lesson involves showing them where he himself has failed.
Old School has a deep and abiding appreciation for the dedication and sacrifices of our nation’s veterans, and he believes it to be a national embarrassment that we still have veterans who are homeless or in need of medical care they are unable to afford. He believes that if we can afford to send our men and women to war, we can certainly afford to take care of them when they return.
Old School still opens doors for ladies. When walking with a lady he never walks ahead of her, and he always walks on the curb side of the sidewalk. In a restaurant, he understands that the lady orders first, and he never starts his meal until she has hers. He helps her on with her coat, he gives her his seat, and he defends her honor when necessary. He doesn’t do these things because he sees her as weak; he does them as a way of showing his respect and appreciation for her.
Old School listens to The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Van Morrison. While he prefers classic rock, he appreciates and respects artists from an earlier time, such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett. He thinks that when they decided to call modern music “rap”, they forgot to include the “c”.
Old School appreciates that the best movies ever made came from a time when we didn’t have to see nudity and sex in every third scene. When John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara went into the bedroom and closed the door, we all knew what was happening next; it wasn’t necessary to show it to the world. Sex is private, and seeing it splashed across a movie screen makes the old school man feel like a peeping tom.
Whenever a friend needs help, Old School is there to give it. It doesn’t matter when or where. His friend is his brother, and when his brother is in need, he goes. No exceptions, even if he has to help carry a sleeper sofa down three flights of stairs. (In the case of the sleeper sofa, however, the friend receiving the help should show his appreciation with tickets to a Steeler game or an expensive bottle of bourbon, or both. Sleeper sofas weigh a ton.)
Old School respects and appreciates teachers and law enforcement officers. He understands the critical importance of their jobs in modern society. If one of Old School’s children is disrespectful or disobedient to a teacher or police officer, that child is in for big problems when he gets home. Old School saw the business end of a paddle more than once as he grew up, and it didn’t hurt him a bit.
Honor, respect, compassion, humility and work ethic are the character traits most important to Old School, and he strives to live his life with those traits foremost in his mind. He is ashamed of the times when he has failed to live up to those qualities, but he admits his failures, learns from them and moves forward with a renewed and deeper commitment.
I’m old school, and proud of it.
