I'm Claude Offenbacher, and this is "A Piece of My Mind."
Fifty years ago this month, Democrat Wayne Morse of Oregon took a courageous stand. He was one of only two Senators to oppose President Johnson's request to use military force in Vietnam.
Senator Morse stood apart from his colleagues on a measure President Johnson said was an essential response to Communist aggression in Southeast Asia.
As a child, I was encouraged to be a team player, to "go along to get along." I was taught the ultimate societal good was to preserve harmony, not to champion my convictions. I learned children who countered prevailing assumptions were shunned.
We celebrate Senator Morse's stand. Similarly,in the likes of a Martin Luther King or a Nelson Mandella, we know others who courageously challenged the prevailing political and social order.
In our homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, we need to do more to empower our children to speak their minds.
And that's a Piece of My Mind. Claude Offenbacher. KLCC News.
