EDMOND — The U. S. Constitution turned 220 years old in March, but few who enjoy its protections took notice. Our Constitution has, with only modest revisions, seen nine generations and survived, sometimes barely so, most of 44 presidents, 111 Congresses, and 110 Supreme Court justices. That long history also has witnessed a few misguided efforts to weigh it down with special interest amendments tailored for some, but not for the good of all.
The story of our country’s written roadmap, the Constitution, both awes and encourages us at the same time, especially given its rough journey to here. Though it survived all that it did, can it really beat back this latest adversity: Karl Rove and James Carville debating the interpretation and scope of the one document we all revere so highly? And in debating as they do in such an extremist fashion that no compromise is ever likely, or even possible? Please note: I have intentionally omitted Howard Dean, Lanny Davis, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity from my frame of reference.
Discount for the sake of discussion Rove and Carville’s claims to fame, that they each jockeyed polar opposites into the White House. As a result of those feats, Karl and James now cast themselves as know-it-all politico/journalists to tell citizens how Karl and James think and, presumably, precisely how everyone else ought to. Is this what we deserve? Is such wisdom from the gods on high truly as good as we are going to get?
Merely thinking of the sad state of our political commentary and politicians makes one wince. Whatever happened to rational, solution-seeking Republican legislators exemplified by Everett Dirksen, Margaret Chase Smith, Barry Goldwater, Robert Taft, Bob Dole and the recently passed away Jack Kemp? Jump the Congressional aisle to the Democrats, and where are the likes of Adlai Stevenson, Edmund Muskie, Barbara Jordan, Carl Albert, Patrick Moynihan and Walter Mondale? Those who have passed on and lie in graves surely must be rolling to see what we see.
The political journalists who used to be also remind us of what we don’t have today. How much do we miss Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Howard K. Smith, David Brinkley, William F. Buckley, and, too soon, will we miss George Will? Determined chroniclers, but each willing to see another side and, God forbid, admit error when necessary.
For a land weaned on the writing of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, the modern analyst seems downright pitiful. The same country came of age in the 1800s, following the positions of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John Q. Adams and the educational give and take of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The Lincoln-Douglas bouts are honored 150 years later by high school and college students engaged in the same form of issues presentation, if not so honored in the public sector.
Are we producing meaningful dialogue and clarifying public issues, then, or are the players only digging deeper sinkholes either side of a line in the quicksand? Is there a lifeline that can be thrown to the warriors, or the citizenry, or would anyone catch it if thrown? We clearly have risen, or more accurately fallen, to a shallow standard that has rarely, if ever, been equaled.
The party, and the respective political parties, will go on, the Karls and Jameses and other oracles will grow more animalistic, and our education as citizens of a great republic will be all the worse for it. The shame of it is that the Constitution and all who revere it and live as free men and women because of it, are entitled to so much more.
DON WIECHMANN, an Edmond resident, is a trust officer at Bank of Oklahoma, where he has been employed since 2005. He has been a licensed Oklahoma attorney since 1973. Wiechmann attended Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas School of Law. He and his wife Jenny have two adult children and three granddaughters.
Opinion
Where have all the good pundits gone?
- Opinion
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
If you read any of the letters to the editor in the past two weeks regarding Tuesday’s District 2 Edmond school board race, then you already know that this election is not about the individual candidates so much as it’s about what type of school board do Edmond residents really want governing their school district?
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What are your presidential 10 Commandments?
As we brace for the upcoming presidential campaign, we should be honest about our responsibility in the process. Before we get pushed, pulled, bribed, frightened, bullied, flattered, fooled or charmed into voting for a candidate, let’s take a mature thoughtful look at what the profile of the president should look like. In order to do that, let’s do an exercise. Sit down with a pencil and paper and draft your proposal for the Ten Commandments to be obeyed by the president. Let me share some of my suggestions.
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What would Reagan do today in Oklahoma?
As we celebrated the 101st anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth on Feb. 6, several of us at Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs started discussing what Reagan might do today. Here are some of the ideas we came up with.
- LETTER: School counselor says Roy ready to help all students
- LETTER: Supporter calls Duncan 'a firecracker'
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Consequences of an overregulated nation
Overreaching government regulations are costing jobs and killing our economy. They are a heavy burden on our nation and its citizens — in some cases worse than our nation’s increasingly out-of-control debt.
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LETTER: Supporter: Duncan shows passion for children’s needs
To the Editor:
The families in the Edmond Public School District are fortunate to have Kathleen Duncan as their advocate on the Edmond Board of Education. Duncan has worked tirelessly for the welfare and benefit of the Edmond schools’ students. -
LETTER: Teacher supports Duncan’s re-election
To the Editor:
On Feb. 14 patrons of District 2 have an opportunity to re-elect the current president of the Edmond School Board, Kathleen Duncan. Duncan has served as a board member for 10 years. When people move to the Oklahoma City area, they buy a home here because of the exceptional quality of Edmond Public Schools. This speaks to Duncan’s goal of “Excellence in Education for All Edmond Public School Students.” -
LETTER: Supporter: Duncan understands diverse issues
To the Editor:
Kathleen Duncan understands the diverse issues that effect our schools. She carefully studies the district’s issues and works tirelessly as an advocate for all students. Her votes as a board member have an impact for years to come and she takes that responsibility very seriously. - LETTER: Reader says incumbent's personal agenda in the way
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OUR VIEW: Feb. 14 vote about ideas
