Karl Hess and The Death of Politics

Who was Karl Hess? During the course of his colorful life, he smuggled guns to anti-communist forces in the Caribbean; wrote speeches for Eisenhower, Nixon and Goldwater; and got arrested in anti-Vietnam war demonstrations.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., Karl told his mother he could learn more on his own than by sitting in some government school room. Together, they registered him at several area public schools, and then submitted transfer slips to each, so they all thought he was attending somewhere else.

He was a news writer for the Mutual Broadcasting System and associate editor of Newsweek magazine. He wrote books on subjects ranging from politics to water conservation. His classic article for Playboy Magazine in the late 60's, titled The Death of Politics, should be read by anyone who believes that politics is the best way to solve society’s problems. He came to believe that all parties and politicians were primarily interested in controlling other people's lives. Hess would have no more of that.

Of all the words Karl Hess wrote, perhaps none are as widely known and quoted as the lines he penned for Barry Goldwater's speech accepting the 1964 Republican presidential nomination:

"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

Karl Hess died on April 22, 1994, at the age of 70. You probably saw nothing about it in the media, because that's the same day Richard Nixon died. No disrespect to Mr. Nixon, but Karl Hess deserved more recognition than he received in life, or death. Look up his writings; they may inspire you, like they did me.

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I met Karl later in his life, and was proud to consider him a friend. When he told me that Harold and Maude was one of his favorite movies, I told him that it was one of mine also. I later sent him a copy as a gift.

Why Bush wouldn’t pray for Oregon

On August 13, 2004 I attended what was billed as an “Ask President Bush Event with Small Business Owners” at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon. I was there as a policy analyst interested in the president’s take on business issues, although most attendees appeared to be his ardent political supporters, and the event did occur in the middle of his reelection campaign.

After a prepared talk, a questioner told Mr. Bush that Oregon is one of the most un-churched states in the union. She asked if he would say a prayer for our state.

Mr. Bush is usually not shy about expressing his religious beliefs. And his Beaverton audience clearly shared those beliefs. But on this day, in this state, the President of the United States took the opportunity to remind his political friends and foes alike that he appreciates the importance of separating church and state.

Here is the question, and the President’s spontaneous response to the request that he pray for Oregon:

Q: Yes Sir. Thank you, Mr. President, for visiting Oregon. I've heard through the grapevine that Oregon is one of the most unchurched states in the union, and I really feel like it shows up in every walk of our society. Could you take a moment to pray for Oregon, for us, right now?

A: Well, I appreciate that. I'd -- look, I think this. I think the thing about our country that you must understand is that one of the most valuable aspects of America is that people can choose church or not church, and they're equally American. That is a vital part of our society.

It's really important. It's -- it's very important that we jealously guard that tradition of America. See, it's the ability to say, I believe or don't believe, which, in itself, is a valuable freedom that we must never surrender. That's what's -- that what causes us to stand in stark contrast to nations all around the world. And if you choose to believe, you're equally American if you're Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Hindi.

That's the great thing about our country. It's this great freedom. It's the fact that we're free to worship the way we see fit, in itself, is a vibrant part of the soul of America. Remember, that's what -- when I was talking about the Taliban, they would drag people out in the public squares for whippings because they did not ascribe to their dim view of religion. And that's the opposite of what we believe in in America.

And so I appreciate what you say, but people in this country need to honor everybody's decision they make about religion. As you know, I've made my choice, and I -- I'm -- as I told you, I appreciate the prayers of the people. And it's -- the prayers are a sustaining aspect of my life. But so long as I'm the President, and I suspect every President after me, hopefully, will jealously guard the great freedom of religion which is a -- which is a part of our -- part of our country's heritage.

Mr. Bush could have made his audience happy by asking everyone to bow their heads and pray with him. Instead, he took the opportunity to make an eloquent and memorable statement. Support or oppose him politically, all Americans should be able to appreciate what he said that day.

What causes poverty?

"…poverty is not 'caused' or created: it is the default condition of the human race, the absence of advanced economic development. It is wealth that must be 'caused,' poverty being the name applied to its absence."

─ Robert Sheaffer, Resentment Against Achievement, Prometheus Books,1988

A postcard from Dave Barry

Author and former humor columnist Dave Barry sent me the following postcard with his solution to the public library funding problem.

10/5/02

Steve –

We could solve the whole library problem if we could just get the Agriculture Department to pay authors to stop producing books.

Dave “von Mises” Barry

What has the public school system wrought?

January 13, 2008

Mr. Personnel person
XYZ Corporation
Portland, Oregon

Dear Personell person:

I’m writing because I want a job with your company. I did real well in high skool. I got good grades and my teachers never had no trouble with me.

My friend Bill got a job with your company and says he gets his birthday off, so it sounds like a good place to work.

I need enough money to make my sterio payments and maybe buy a house soon.

I can start work right away, but will need next month off to follow what’s left of the Grateful Dead around New England. Maybe I can make the time up by skipping some lunch periods.

I like to sleep in, but can probably be there most days by 9:30. My high skool didn’t have a dress code, so I hope you don’t to. If you do, do you pay for the clothes?

I’m glad my education prepared me for a good job with your company.

Please don’t use my middle name on my business cards. My friends will laugh if they see it.

Yours truly,

John Quincy Product-of-the-public-schools

Nanny States of America?

Hillary Clinton said something very interesting on January 3rd after she finished third in the Iowa Democratic caucus:

You know, I wrote a book some years ago called "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child," and in it I have a chapter that I titled "Every Child Needs a Champion." Well, I think that the American people need a president who is their champion, and that is what I intend to be. *

So, children need champions and Hillary intends to be the American people's champion. Ergo, she thinks of us as children. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be President of the United States of America so much as she wants to be Champion of the Nanny States of America. Trouble is, there aren’t any such states. American adults are just that—adults. We don’t need a nanny.

*Transcript

My Oregon Catalyst blog posts

I'm much more prolific on another blog:

Steve Buckstein's Oregon Catalyst blog posts

Whose business do you mind?

One's first blog post sets the tone for all that follows. With this in mind, I offer my favorite quote from one of my favorite authors:

"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business."
- Eric Hoffer, The True Believer, 1951

For more on Hoffer's thoughts, here's a commentary I wrote for Cascade Policy Institute. It was recorded by talk radio host Peter Weissbach and broadcast over KBNP radio in Portland, Oregon on August 3, 1992.

CASCADE COMMENTARY
The True Believer

As we try to make sense of our world, it helps to explore the wisdom of people like Eric Hoffer. Known as the longshoreman philosopher, Hoffer had virtually no formal education, yet his awareness of the human condition was exceptional. His first book, "The True Believe" was published in 1951. Subtitled "Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements," it offers insights still helpful today. Here are just a few of Eric Hoffer's observations:

"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause."

"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business."

There are many more gems in this little book, but I'll close with a chilling one:

"Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden...We join a mass movement to escape from individual responsibility, or, in the words of an ardent young Nazi, 'to be free from freedom.' It was not sheer hypocrisy when the rank-and-file Nazis declared themselves not guilty of all the enormities they had committed. They considered themselves cheated and maligned when made to shoulder responsibility for obeying orders. Had they not joined the Nazi movement in order to be free from responsibility?"

The True Believer is still among us. Read Hoffer's book and decide for yourself who he --or she-- is today.

This is Weissbach.