My introduction to politics came in 1968 when I was in the seventh grade. More specifically, politics showed up on my radar screen during a road trip with my family to Port Wing, Wis., to visit my grandmother that year.

I can honestly say that up to that point I was blissfully ignorant about presidential elections and any other sort of battles for elected office. Mr. Helgeson, my seventh-grade social studies teacher, was about to make sure that would change.

He had assigned us a rather lengthy report about the race for president in 1968, when Republican Richard Nixon and Democrat Hubert Humphrey (a very popular Minnesotan) were joined by a third-party candidate, Independent George Wallace. As luck would have it, my older brother, a freshman, also had Mr. Helgeson as a teacher and got the same assignment.

Of course we had both procrastinated to the point where we were frantically writing our essays in the backseat of the family car as Dad chugged across Minnesota and into Wisconsin. As the September daylight waned we used the back window shelf for a writing desk. I don’t recall our aging Ford having seat belts, so it was no big deal to sit backwards on our knees and maximize the remaining light.

We took turns using some kind of an election magazine that detailed the platform for each candidate. My brother seemed to fully grasp the subject; I was confused, so I did what any other sibling trying to outdo her older sibling would do: I tried to copy his paper.

“Mom, Lynnette is copying my report. Make her stop,” he whined.

“Am not,” I defensively spouted. “I’m just trying to read it.”

“Are we there yet?...”

It should have come as no surprise when my brother got a higher grade than me, but I was still ticked because we’d both used the same materials. Obviously he had a better handle on presidential politics than I did.

Looking back on it, I realize now what a pivotal year 1968 was in our country, let alone national politics, as the election played out following the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Demonstrations against the Vietnam War and civil unrest played out across the country and the 1968 Democratic National Convention would go down in history as one of the most volatile because of clashes between the Chicago police and demonstrators.

Forty-four years later, I’m not sure I understand the nature of politics any better that I did as a junior-high kid. I loathe the negative campaigning, exaggerations and name-calling that’s so prevalent in high-profile races today.

Leading our country, whether it’s at the local, state or federal level, is important work. What should be civil discussion about the qualifications of candidates — especially in federal races — more often than not descends into back-stabbing battles where survival of the fittest is determined by who can raise the most money.

My plea is for a little more decorum in politics. I wonder in our world of social media gone mad if that’s even a realistic goal any more. I hope our politicians are at least willing to try to take the high road as the election season gets into full swing.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at [email protected].