Do you remember where you were when President Kennedy was shot? My father was teaching government at Susquehanna Valley High. He was speechless for at least five minutes. This blow hit my father hard, one of eight children from an Irish-Catholic family. My father was an ardent Kennedy supporter, a Democrat from Scranton, Penn., with a strong belief in equal rights for all people.

My father-in-law, on the other hand, viewed things differently. He led his family of five in their risky escape from Cuba on a fishing boat in 1966. Lost at sea and without food for nine days, they were eventually rescued by a British destroyer out on maneuvers. He found freedom on our shores and vowed never to return. He has voted Republican in every election since he became a United States citizen. Why? Because he wanted to be free, as far from socialism as he could possibly get.

My father served as a school counselor in Miami-Dade for 33 years. My father-in-law served as a nurse in the United States for over 20 years. They now agree on presidential politics. I agree with them too.

Why? My grandmother grew up in Germany. She was given a ballot. Adolph Hitler’s name was the only choice. She could vote either yes or no, and then sign her name. Healthcare would be nationalized. The Jewish merchants had too much money, that money should be redistributed to others. Hitler had brought Germany out of a depression. Children sang songs that praised the Fuhrer in the streets and on the radio. “With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can CHANGE the world!” My grandmother was a devout Catholic, and it was well-known that Hitler was a Catholic as well. He had even studied to be a priest. After Hitler was elected with 95 percent of the vote, the people cheered.

Quietly, things did CHANGE. Because healthcare was nationalized, the government was in a position to decide who would receive care. The elderly began to disappear from hospitals. Children who were sick or disabled were secretly put to death in “hospitals.” The “mercy killings” began. The wealth of the Jews was redistributed.

Evolution was the scientific theory behind racial superiority. The trait for blue eyes is a mutation, so those with blue eyes and blonde hair should continue to evolve and mutate to become a superior race. We all saw the result of that kind of thinking. The world looked on and wondered how we could have let that happen.

My grandmother deeply regretted her misled and uninformed decision. Her father and all her brothers except for one were killed in the war. The only brother to survive went crazy. I am glad that before the war she married a young German-American carpenter and raised her family in upstate New York.

I will not make the same mistake my grandmother made. I do not want someone who would deny medical care to a baby that survives a blotched abortion to nationalize healthcare. I do not believe that the human race exists as a result of random mutations. I want everyone to have the freedom to work and keep the money that they earn.

I am not wealthy in terms of money, but in terms of family. But I don’t think the wealth needs to be redistributed. We live in a free country and I would like to keep it that way.

In our country people can make mistakes. Our economy is suffering because of the financial mistakes that businesses have made. Businesses lent money to people who could not afford to pay the money back. We should learn from our mistakes and not make them in the future.

My vote is for Sara Palin, and my heart is with her too. She is not perfect, and neither am I. But from what I can see she thinks like I do. She is as far from NAZI as you can get. What does NAZI stand for anyway? It is the National Socialist Party.

If Dr. Martin Luther King were alive and running for office, I would vote for him. My heart just goes out to him every time I read his speeches. His dream is my dream. I believe in equal rights. But Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King are very different indeed.

In a perfect world we would all come together as Americans. The war in Iraq would end peacefully and our military would come home. The brave men and women who serve in our military would be available to help around the world. They would bring peace to troubled countries.

A note about local politics:

I am voting for Nicole File. Why? Before she even considered running as a write-in candidate, I asked her, “Are you a Republican?” She answered emphatically and clearly that yes, she indeed was a Republican. In addition, she has attended Republican meetings. I have never seen her opponent at any of the Republican meetings I have attended.

Not everyone who attends Republican meetings is a Republican, but the chances are greater that people who attend Republican meetings are actual Republicans.

In a perfect world, the Fayette County School System would have all the resources they needed to continue to be the best system around, and Nicole File would be there to make sure that the money was well-spent.

Mary Kay Bacallao

Brooks, Ga.

[Ms. Bacallao lost in the July 15 Republican Primary to Fayette County Board of Education Post 2 incumbent Terri Smith.]