Dead Presidents

Today was a "national day of mourning" for Gerald Ford, which basically means there was no mail delivery, which always annoys me. At least we were spared the orgy of delusion that accompanied Reagan's overdue trip to the Judgment Seat, a national outpouring that left me so enraged that I forced myself to protest by doing something positive (volunteering for Project Open Hand).

The description of Gerald Ford that has stuck with me all these years came from (I think) Tip O'Neill, and I'm paraphrasing here: he's not a bad man, he just doesn't see very far; if he saw a hungry child he would hand over his lunch, but he doesn't see that cutting funds from school lunch programs results in thousands of hungry kids.

I never thought that there was a secret deal behind the Nixon pardon, but I still can't forgive him for that even if it was sincerely meant as a healing gesture. At the time pundits proclaimed that "no one wants to see ex-President Nixon behind bars" to which I thought au contraire, I do; and "hasn't he been punished enough?" to which I thought, no, not nearly enough. The only thing that would have made me happier than seeing Nixon behind bars is seeing him joined several years later by Ronald Iran-Contra Reagan.

Why this reluctance to see the powerful brought low by their own crimes? The Elizabethans were made of sterner stuff and frequently told sad tales of the deaths of kings as a warning and rebuke to the excesses of the powerful. Why have we forgotten that actions have consequences, or rather, why are the powerful to be protected from their own mistakes while the poor receive lectures on their moral failings? Did cushioning Nixon's fall help lead to a culture in which a President can send Americans to war based on lies and suffer no consequences?

We have a ruling class that supports the free market until it costs them, supports the troops but won't allow pictures of their dead bodies to be shown, refuses to cut back on wasteful oil use as if that had no effect on our policies or the planet -- you can supply your own favorite cause and the cynical way its reality is ignored or distorted. There's a stereotype prevalent that "liberals" are soft of head and heart and "conservatives" are hard-headed, practical types who deal with the world as it is. But most people without money or connections know that the bills always come due and eventually every bully meets someone bigger and stronger, or just smarter. I'm sure Ford was personally a nice man, but I'll save my tears for those who won't be getting sympathy from official mourners.