Past Political Memories – Coffee and Confusion – Ken Williams
Ray Paquet, Howard Killough, and I left our Treasure Island Naval base in dress blues to attend a Barry Goldwater rally on the Fisherman’s Warf. A large crowd gathered to heckle Goldwater. He was the media created maniac that would start WWIII if elected as President of the United States. T.V. screens displayed his stern face superimposed on a hydrogen bomb explosion and Dr. Strangelove was playing in theaters.
Ray, Howard, and I figured this was an attempt to frighten us into voting for LBJ. We were there to support Goldwater and took turns holding one of us upon shoulders to shout “Hang in there. We’re for you!” I doubt he could hear us, muffled by the loud “crucify him” shouts of the majority, but he may have seen us with open-handed support. What were we thinking? We were too young to vote, not that it made any difference considering the majority of our fellow Americans voted for LBJ.
Ray, Howard, and I left the Warf after the rally to find a place to talk and encourage one another, so we entered one of the San Francisco coffee houses, “Coffee and Confusion.” Free coffee. We stood out compared to the majority dressed like beatniks. October 1964 was too early for “flower children” and Haight Ashbury. The coffee was weak and the poet on stage was sharing a message that was either above our comprehension or was part of the confusion of the coffee house. We prepared to leave and go back to the base.
Before we could leave “Coffee and Confusion” a well-dressed man in a suit, open white shirt, without a tie, “looking casual”, sat down at our table. He introduced himself as a “card-carrying-Communist” and had a message, so he didn’t waste time to ask us for our names. Looking back I wonder if he may have been affiliated, in some way, with the University of California, Berkeley. After his spiel, one of us asked him, it may have been me, “Why don’t you move to Russia and get out of our country?” He responded, “Oh, because their standard of living is too low for me.” One of us said, “Doesn’t that destroy your argument?” He responded, “No. We must gain control of all the world’s power so we can distribute its wealth fairly and equally to all people. Then we will have the paradise we seek.” He wasn’t done.
He told us that they knew they couldn’t defeat the U.S. militarily so they chose to reeducate the younger generations to agree that communism is the answer. He said they had succeeded in gaining control of Hollywood, unions, the media, and some universities. He said that after they gained control of higher education they would work on the public schools. He told us that they realized it might take 75 to 100 years to accomplish all this but that eventually they’d control all nations on earth and then we would have paradise for all! He got up and left our table. We sat there silently, stunned by what he shared with us. We looked at each other and said, “this could work!” We returned to the base.
In December I heard a radio preacher with a captivating voice announcing the Communists would fail and the real threat to world peace was another beast like totalitarian empire coming from Europe. I was so confused that this sounded like good news. That started a long detour into another alterative reality.
It’s been sixty years since that all took place. Thankfully, my confusion about earthly political kingdoms and movements has been replaced with the certainty that the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, is the answer for the turmoil, confusion, pain, and suffering our fellow human beings are going through. The Lamb of God has forgiven us all, and will one day bring world peace.
Ken and Nancy Williams served for some 25 years in pastoral ministry, and then almost another 20 years serving and mentoring other pastors. With the heart of a pastor Ken continues to write and blog from upstate New York where he and Nancy live close to their grandchildren.
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
