I don’t know how popular this guy is outside of North
Carolina, and until today I had not heard of him at all. I’m not a big fan of
the 24/7 news cycle and it appears that Mr. Martin works in that field, so he
has never crossed my radar screen until now.
It seems that Mr. Martin hosts a TV show called “Bookwatch”,
on which he interviews authors in depth, and apparently to much acclaim. I’ll
have to start watching him, as we seem to share a love of books; and literature
in general. So, what’s the deal with Mr. Martin apologizing to the North
Carolina Grand Old Party, which is currently having a grand old time rolling
the state back about 100 years socially and economically?
Apparently, Mr. Martin, quoted Joseph Goebbels from a
recently released book called “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larsont, in
which Goebbels says “Now our party is in charge and they are free again. When a
man has been in jail for 12 years and is suddenly freed, in his joy he may do
something irrational, perhaps even brutal.” After reciting the quote Mr. Martin
added these words of his own; “In our state, too?” And now you would think that
the sky has fallen as the republicans demand a retraction, an apology, and even
Mr. Martin’s removal from the TV show he hosts, which is funded in part by the
state.
Okay, let’s examine two things here; first, what he said.
The quote is applicable, in my opinion, to the actions of the recently
installed GOP Governorship of the state of North Carolina, in which I live.
After not having a Republican in power for 100 years, it would seem to many; and
if you have been aware of the “Moral Monday” demonstrations recently, in which
teachers and Nuns have been arrested; that the GOP in North Carolina is acting
exactly as Herr Goebbels describes.
As soon as the Republicans took over last January they began
a flood of bills all aimed at either rolling back the social progress of the
last 50 years, or passed legislation which will have a crippling effect upon
the middle classes. Along with these measures, they have found time to declare war
on women’s health choices, attempting to gut access to abortions. And, in their
spare time they have even tried to establish an official State Religion. Some;
as Goebbels did; might describe these actions as being “irrational, perhaps
even brutal.” That’s my opinion.
Secondly; these self-anointed monitors of the airwaves are
quick to point out that Mr. Martin overstepped his mandate by delving into
politics when he made the comparison, thus venturing an opinion with which they
do not agree. Good point, save for one thing. If you allow that thinking to
prevail, and Mr. Martin is removed from his post, then the NCGOP has now made
their opinion; for that is what it is; the prevalent one, thus depriving the
people who might agree with Mr. Martin in the first place, of their own rights.
This creates a vicious circle, in which no one is ever satisfied.
J. Edgar Hoover; not one of my favorite people to quote
from; once inadvertently said something very astute. In his book “Masters of
Deceit” from 1958 (Henry Holt) Hoover states that once everyone has their
rights to the fullest extent, then everyone’s rights will be diminished in
proportion. And he was right. It was probably an accident of thinking on his
part, but he was right. Think about it; if I am so concerned with offending
you, then I must carefully choose my words. That’s what keeps America from ever
having a real “conversation” about race. Too many words we can’t use to discuss
the problem we have.
Well, the same holds true here with D.G. Martin and the NCGOP. With both sides unwilling to listen, or even tolerate the other's point of view, if they both exercise their rights to the max, then the silence will become, as they say, deafening.
No comments:
Post a Comment