1 Man, 1 Vote--and Many Errors

May 12, 1986|By Abigail Van Buren.

Dear Abby: I would like to comment about the letter from an Alabama reader who gave examples of ``how one vote changed history.`` His purpose, to encourage voting, was a good one, but most of his facts were wrong.

He said: ``In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.``

Wrong! In 1645, Oliver Cromwell became leader of the New Model (Puritan)

Army, but not of England, which was then in the midst of a civil war. He didn`t establish his own government until 1649--and then did so in part by expelling opponents from Parliament. It wasn`t primarily votes but strong leadership and military force that established his control.

He said: ``In 1649, one vote caused King Charles of England to be executed.``

Wrong! In 1649, King Charles I of England was executed--but not as a result of a one-vote margin. Cromwell`s soldiers excluded the moderate majority from the House of Commons and shut down the pro-royalist House of Lords entirely; a newly established revolutionary tribunal then tried the king and overwhelmingly condemned him to death.

He stated: ``In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union.``

Wrong! In 1845, the U.S. Senate passed the convention annexing Texas by two votes (27-25), not one; and it entered into force only after ratification by the Texas Congress and voters.

He stated: ``In 1876, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.``

Wrong! In 1876, France was not a monarchy; it had become a republic in 1875, by a larger margin. (Its empire had ended in 1870; previous monarchies ended in 1830 and 1848.)

He stated: ``In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.``

Wrong! Hitler acquired dictatorial control of the Nazi Party in 1921, not 1923, and by a party congress vote of 553-1--not exactly a one-vote margin.

Abby, if your Alabama correspondent wanted his argument to be effective, he should have checked his facts.

Louise E. Hoffman, Ph.D.

Dear Dr. Hoffman: I was hesitant to publish his letter without checking his facts, but he seemed so cotton pickin` sure, I didn`t question his sources. My fault, not his.

Dear Abby: You tell old people it`s all right for them to touch, hug and kiss, but what about getting between the sheets for a little sex once in a while? We are both 85 years old and in good health, and we are very good friends.

Is this an unpardonable sin? Please answer in the newspaper--maybe someone else would like to know.

H.B. in Illinois

Dear H.B.: I am not authorized to pardon sins, but if I were, I would worry less about what two old lovers did between the sheets and more about man`s inhumanity to man.

Dear Abby: You`ve had a lot of letters about adopted children in your column lately. I`d like to add to it.

After I was born, my mother was not able to have any more children, so she and my father adopted a 5-day-old boy. (I am also a boy.) In their determination to make their adopted son feel as loved and wanted as their natural child (me), they went overboard. I heard that ``Jimmy`` was their

``chosen`` child, which made me think that when I was born they had to take what they got--but Jimmy was special, so they ``chose`` him.

I grew up feeling inferior and less wanted than my little brother. I felt that I had to prove my worthiness by being competitive with him. I wanted to love him, but it was hard when he was given preferential treatment and told he was their ``special, chosen child.`` I know my parents loved me, too--but it took a lot of understanding, not to mention several years with a

psychoanalyst, to straighten my head out.

Print this. It may help other well-meaning parents.