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Toxic Talk in the Public Square

(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.

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