Toxic Talk in the Public Square
Thursday, January 25, 2007(The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation)
Toxic Talk in the Public Square
Bitterness, hubris of presidential recount
fester
by Richard C. Harwood -
msnbc.com, January 5, 2001
Jan. 5 ó The
jockeying around the Bush presidency is in full
gear with the recent naming of Cabinet members,
the many visits to Capitol Hill and the
maneuvering of different political forces. But
amid this political intrigue an underlying
challenge continues to nag us. What will become
of the horrendous hubris that so marked the
presidential recount and which lurches just
beneath the surface of our political
life?
How do people fire such poisonous
missives at each other, especially so many
self-proclaimed patriots?
FOR NOW, the
arrogance seems to be in check. President-elect
Bush finds himself enjoying a bit of a
honeymoon and many politicos are holding their
fire. Both chafing Democrats readying for the
2002 mid-term elections and congressional
Republicans like Tom DeLay, who are convinced
they have a mandate to enact partisan reforms,
are keeping quiet.
But it was only weeks
ago in the recount process that many in
positions of power and responsibility demonized
and destroyed all that was in their way. People
accused one another of being ìfraudulentî or
ìstealing the election.î Some said ìthug
tacticsî were at work and a ìwhiff of
fascismî existed in the air. Katherine Harris,
Floridaís Republican secretary of state, was
mightily maligned and mocked, as was the
Florida Supreme Court.
Some of the worst
accusations came in the sharp salvos shot at
local Florida canvassing board members. On one
television show, a panel of well known experts
literally decimated these public servants ó
putting up their pictures as if they were mug
shots, calling these folks ìpolitical meal
ticketsî and ìlaughable,î implying they are
low-life political hacks.
Shattering
the Silence
It seems only a matter of
time before the next round begins. Perhaps it
is a year off or only a month or two. But
recent experience tells us that the current
lull is just that ó a moment of silence only
to be shattered when tensions
emerge.
How do people fire such
poisonous missives at each other, especially so
many self-proclaimed patriots? What kind of
responsibility do they accept for their
sharp-tongued statements?
These critics
really must be kidding. And in some ways they
are. It has now become so easy to make
outlandish statements and then erase it all
with a handshake the next morn. It is a kind of
public theatre. But our political life is not
fiction or fantasy or a childís game ó there
are real costs to our conduct.
Too many
public figures seem unable to accept that the
world does not revolve around what they
proclaim in the next five-minute press
conference or that having a megaphone at oneís
disposal means it must always be
used.
Soiling the Flag
Meanwhile,
those in positions of power pursue their
declaration of patriotic destinies by citing
tales of American history to make them appear
grand and great. They cite the Constitution,
the Founding Fathers and stand before the stars
and stripes, but they merely soil our nationís
celebrated documents, the voices of true
patriots and the cloth of our flag.
Of
course, these things have always occurred. But
when and where do we draw the line? At what
point does such conduct so cheapen our nation
that we do much harm?
To even consider
such questions, and to act upon them, requires
that we must find some humility to literally
hear, understand and sense what it is we are
doing.