~a column by Colleen O’Brien
A quarter of a century ago, I wrote the following column:
“Politicians could address issues” June 19, 1996
Among all the other indecencies in our lives, it’s an election year. We would welcome it, though, if politicians spoke to the issues and not the emotions.
It started with the bombastic Buchanan, that scary guy who can goad anyone into incivility. When it comes to know-it-alls like him assuming the pose (rude, mean spirited and full of facts with no sources), I find it nearly impossible to be civil myself. I descend right to their level and the irresistible longing to stick my tongue out at them.
When my mind clears, I recall the precepts of our beloved but beleaguered First Amendment. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion in this free and democratic country and being urbane about it is not a requirement.
But, oh lord, would I like to see some white hats vying for the White House. I dream about a strong, honest, far-seeing, intelligent, compassionate, wise woman as president. Being more realistic, I envision a good-natured, calm man leading our country, someone steeped in history and knowing that war and weapons sales are not the answer, an individual with a strong will, a gentle soul and a world vision. Where’s a statesman when you need one?
Historically, we’ve had to wage war to come up with statesman-like leaders. Not a solution. That’s why we’re supposed to study history so we don’t repeat it.
The difference between politics and statesmanship is compromise for the good of the whole (not the special interest). The will to listen to and respect the ideas of those who don‘t agree with us is a lost art, even though it doesn’t take a saint or a genius to understand it. As author Duane Elgin says, “…the fate of the individual is ultimately connected with the fate of the whole.”
Gosh, is he saying we’re all in this together? What a novel idea. No man is an island? The more crowded the world gets, the more meaning these phrases have.
So, when I read about Sen. Bob Dole’s tired old complaints lambasting President Clinton for something so feeble as not supporting a Constitutional amendment to protect the flag, I figure he’s going to run a campaign of emotions and non-issues; he’s not going to get to the important stuff.
The flag is a symbol, a visible sign for something invisible, such as, oh, maybe freedom of expression, to name one. The flag is an arbitrary token, a metaphor chosen to represent our right to burn the flag as a visible sign of our disagreement with our government. Burning a flag is as symbolic as the flag itself. When Abraham Lincoln heard of a man who had been arrested for tearing up a copy of the Constitution, he had the man released from jail and brought to Washington for dinner in the White House. Lincoln was saying, in a symbolic action, that the very existence of the Constitution reserves one’s right to rip it asunder.
I’m not a flag-burning type, at least as far as I know, and most of us aren’t, so why bother [with them]? Besides, Constitutional amendments aren’t about restrictions. They enumerate individual and states’ rights not named in the Constitution.
Can’t Mr. Dole think of anything important to talk about? Everybody else I know can. The grassroots conversations in this country center on health care, education, the environment and campaign reform. Working class people are worried about air and water quality affecting the health of children, about insurance companies controlling health needs, about American business going offshore, about losing jobs, about a two-class country made up of rich and poor, about a religious minority wielding power in a government where church and state are not kin.
In the face of these kinds of worries, who cares about a flag-waver? The canny American voter knows that whoever’s spouting the flag, or anti-choice or English as an official language is (1) covering up something, (2) unwilling to talk about complicated problems, (3) uninformed about the real issues that concern us mightily or (4) so arrogant he’s unaware we can spot condescension a mile off. We are a literate people who care about our future, both individually and as a whole. Flag burning, the government having ANY say in women’s reproductive decisions, English as official language – these are either no one else’s business or non-issues, and we certainly don’t want to hear about them in an election year.”
