Two quotes to ponder today, from the infamous Republican political operative whose campaign tactics of divisiveness, smears and racist appeals set the tone for our political discourse long before Karl Rove became a household word, Lee Atwater:
Number 1 (in response to complaints that he had run a negative and empty campaign against Michael Dukakis in 1988)
“We had only one goal in the campaign: to help elect George Bush. That’s the purpose of any political campaign. What other function should a campaign have?”
Number 2 (after learning of the brain tumor that would take his life and feeling remorse for his past actions)
My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The ’80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don’t know who will lead us through the ’90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.
Lee Atwater was a ruthless political operative who would do anything, say anything, hurt anyone, to win. He lied, he cheated, he distorted the truth, he played the race card, the fear card, whatever it took — to win. He only learned the value of other people after he was dying from brain cancer. I’m glad for him that he repented of his life’s misdeeds before he died.
Sadly, we are still faced with that “spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society” of which he spoke. Indeed, that vacuum has only increased in intensity over the last two decades, as we have become an even more ruthless, more ambitious society, greedy, barbarous and cruel (to borrow a phrase if I may). The question we all should be asking ourselves today, and for the rest of our lives is what we can do to fill up that emptiness with something more powerful than our own self interest.
We should also be asking that same question of those whom we would elect to higher office. In the world of politics, means implies ends. So I say to you, examine the means employed by those who seek your vote and your support, what they do not just what they say, and you will better understand the true goals they have set for themselves and for this country which they seek to serve. Lee Atwater was all about winning for his political clients and for himself. We need a larger goal than that if we hope to change the direction of this country.
