February 21, 2023 Presidents' Day

The Liberty Gazette

February 21, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Who did you reflect on yesterday for Presidents’ Day? We thought of Barry Goldwater, who would have been an infinitely better choice than Johnson. 

Barry loved exploring the rugged landscape of his hometown. He was born in Phoenix before Arizona was a state. On advice from his high school principal, his parents sent him to Staunton Military Academy in Virginia to learn discipline. But when his father died suddenly of a heart attack, his military career was thwarted, and he left college to work at his family’s Goldwater’s Department Store, starting as a clerk for $15 a week.

He grew with the business, flew his own plane, and always carried a camera for the “wish-you-could-see-this” photos. Eventually, he turned his attention to community affairs, winning a seat on the Phoenix City Council. (Check it out, Tommy Brents: today, Liberty City Council, tomorrow Texas House – because Lord knows we need a decent state representative too – after that, sky’s the limit!)

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Barry was a reserve first lieutenant in the Army with more than 200 hours logged. He couldn’t fly combat due to poor vision, but he served in the Air Transport Command and in the Burma-India theater, ferrying aircraft over the Himalayan Mountains in treacherous weather, over hostile terrain. Flying the hump (of Burma) was not for the faint of heart. When the P-47 was new, he flew it across the cold Atlantic to the UK, a risky mission due to the unknown of the aircraft at that time.

After WWII, he helped form the Arizona National Guard and joined the Air Force Reserve. Besides personal sacrifices and contributions to our country, he cared about humanity. As senator, he preached individualism, the sanctity of private property, anticommunism, and the dangers of centralized power. He listened to real, hard-working, honest Americans and helped present their views on limited government, welfare, and defense. In a nutshell, his motto was: “Live Free or Die.” He thought, “a guy running for office who says exactly what he really thinks would astound a lot of people.” But Lyndon Johnson was well-known for his hefty bag of dirty political tricks and used them prolifically. 

The Heritage Foundation called Barry Goldwater “the most consequential loser in American politics.” If he had been elected President in 1964, here are two things they say would have likely happened: 

First, there would be no “Great Society.” Barry believed in the Constitution and citizens helping each other – no need for government intervention.

Second, we’d have had nowhere near the death toll in the Vietnam War. He did not believe we should enter a ground war in Vietnam. 

Was he perfect? Of course not. While serving as an alter boy at his (Methodist) church, he fired a miniature cannon at the steeple. But the state of Arizona saw fit to enshrine him into the Aviation Hall of Fame and name a few airport terminals after him, so this Presidents’ Day, we elected to talk about Barry Goldwater.

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