I think that this ends up being written for a Sunday is coincidental to what, I hope, is my point, though most of the time, when I'm finally finished I can't see my point with both eyes, because I'm covering them with both hands after having already used them to try to hit something else. Can't wait to see if that's what happens this time and won't be surprised if it does.
Here in The Land of Steady Habits Wednesday, less cosmically coincidentally also the Feast of the Three Kings, one of the liberal Lions of the Senate, Christopher Dodd, announced he would not seek re-election to what would have been his sixth term in the United States Senate.
This was major news across our nation, as well as it should have been, so you can imagine locally how much coverage it received, especially since Senator Dodd's roots are here in Eastern Connecticut having been born in Willimantic. Politics was/is the family business, as his dad, Thomas (born in Norwich, he was our baseball stadium's namesake), was also a Senator and Executive Trial Counsel during the Nuernberg War Crimes Tribunal. In 1967 he was censured by the US Senate for converting campaign funds to personal accounts and spending the money. The censure, in essence, ended his political career.
I mention the 'sins', if you will, of the father because they, along with political, ethical, philosophical and personal disagreements generated by decades in public life were visited upon the son, in spades, when he made his 'no mas' announcement. Our local newspapers and television station coverage was massively extensive but here in the Air Age of the Diamond Dogs, where interactivity is all the vogue, it was the commentary of website visitors who became the real story behind this story.
I'm amazed at how cruel we are to one another when we feel ourselves invisible, or in the case of newspapers with interactive reader forums, anonymous bloggers. Some of the things we write on line are probably legally actionable and many of us don't realize you can poll a server hosting a site, determine the ip address of the computer and, surprise!, we're NOT anonymous anymore.
How did we become a nation of VERY PI$$ED OFF people who shout AT one another rather than speak TO each other? I don't know and I don't know how to stop it much less reverse it. And when the news cycle had run its course, and the vitriol and vituperation were finally spent, then what? As the circle of those who hate us draws closer and larger, we remain pre-occupied with keeping up with, and keeping track of, the Joneses (or whatever their names are this headline), almost as oblivious to the dangers without as we are immune to the toxins within.
Some days I don't recognize us, and don't really want to. I was angry at my parents for the world they gave to me-what should we be telling our children as they take ownership? For all who clamored, again, for 'mandating term limits' here are five reasons in opposition: James Buckley '80; Roger Eddy '86; Brook Johnson, '92; Gary Franks, '98 and Jack Orchulii, '04. These were the opponents Chris Dodd faced in the course of the last thirty years, capturing on average over 62% of all votes cast. We already have term limits, but in my country we call them elections.
-bill kenny
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