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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher ~
Mike Buffington, editor • Email: Mike@mainstreetnews.com
History will judge us
The current polarization of the American political
landscape gets a lot of attention. People are more
hardened in their politi
cal opinions than at any
time in the past 40 years,
and perhaps even lon
ger.
Political discourse has
become less civil and
more intense. Social
media has become
a playground of fake
news, propaganda and
political manipulation.
Facts and tmth are being
sacrificed daily on the
altar of political expedi
ency.
Much of this revolves
around where one
stands on the presiden
cy of Donald Tmmp. To his hardcore supporters, he can
do no wrong and his opponents are just flaky liberals.
To his critics, Trump is an aberrant political animal and
does not deserve to be “normalized” as a mainstream
politician.
We won’t settle that debate anytime soon. In fact,
many of us will be long gone by the time history reflects
on our time and renders a more dispassionate judge
ment.
That’s the way it has always been. Throughout
American history, citizens have gotten caught up in
political debates which, at the time, seemed so clear.
Yet in hindsight, we know today that often the majority
opinion in the past was wrong and those with minority
views were right.
A brief look at how history judges:
• European settlers to the New World often hated the
Native Americans they encountered here. While there
were some who viewed Native Americans with sympathy
and admiration, many Americans wanted them pushed
out or killed. That view was held by some of our most
revered American statesmen. But it was Andrew Jackson
who has come to embody the popular attitude of the
time: “That those tribes cannot exist surrounded by our
settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is
certain. They have neither the intelligence, the industry,
the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which
are essential to any favorable change in their condition.
Established in the midst of another and a superior race,
and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority
or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield
to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear, ”
Jackson said. We now know that Jackson’s treatment of
Native Americans was nothing short of ethnic cleansing
and a horrible blot on our nation’s history. Today, we
celebrate Native American culture and condemn those
who destroyed it. The majority opinion about Native
Americans in the past was wrong.
• Before the Civil War, most Southerners defended
slavery. Some defended it on economic grounds, but
many also justified it on religious grounds. "... the right
of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy
Scriptures, both by precept and example, ” said Richard
Furman, President, South Carolina Baptist Convention at
the time. Many believed that at the time. Today, we recog
nize that slavery was a horrible and immoral institution.
The abolitionists of that era were right, but they were a
minority voice in the antebellum South. The opinion
about slavery held by of a majority of white Southerners
was wrong.
• Most Americans opposed women getting the vote
up until the 19th Amendment was finally ratified in 1920.
Women who wanted to vote were called “Soapbox
Militants” and men feared that allowing women to vote
would put them under “petticoat rule.” Opponents also
said that politics was a dirty business and that it would
“soil” the female persona if they were allowed the vote.
Today, we laugh at the silly reasons people opposed the
suffragette movement, but at the time those were seri
ous arguments. The majority opinion on that issue was
wrong.
• When the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Board
of Education in 1954 that schools should be integrated,
the decision was met with a huge outcry in the South.
White Citizens Councils were organized and anti-inte
gration speakers went town to town blasting the ruling.
Private schools began to organize and many whites fled
cities for the “whiteness” of the suburbs. Opposition to
school integration was openly racist — reading articles
from that era makes one shudder at the hatred that was
openly expressed. Today, we see that era for the bigotry
that it really was. The majority opinion was wrong.
• When he first came onto the public stage, a majority
of Americans supported Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti
communist cmsade. The Cold War had created a lot of
fear and McCarthy’s allegations that Soviet subversives
had infiltrated various government institutions was taken
seriously. But McCarthy was exposed as a bully and thug
during televised hearings. His public support fell and
Americans came to see him for what he really was. The
majority opinion that had supported him was wrong.
• The Civil Rights act of 1964 was also vehemently
opposed by a majority of white Southerners. Our own
Sen. Richard Russell led the fight against the act, say
ing: “We will resist to the bitter end any measure or any
movement which would have a tendency to bring about
social equality and intermingling and amalgamation
of the races in our (Southern) states. ” The law passed
anyway. The majority who opposed it and who opposed
equality for all citizens were wrong.
• Public support for the Vietnam War was initially
strong. The fear of communism spreading in Southeast
Asia blinded many to the reality of that conflict and
America’s deepening involvement in it. It was only after
the war dragged on year after year with no end in sight,
combined with the impact of a vocal anti-war movement,
that public sentiment began to shift. Today, we view the
war as having been a major mistake in American foreign
policy. Although hated at the time by many Americans,
the anti-war protestors (“damn hippies!”) proved to
have been right in their opposition to that war. The early
majority opinion about Vietnam was wrong.
• In the early days of Watergate, most Americans
thought President Nixon should not resign or be
impeached. But after the televised Senate hearings in
1973 and the dmmbeat of ensuring scandals, public opin
ion shifted and eventually a majority came to believe that
he should resign. Even then, he still had many defenders
who blamed liberals and the media for attacking “their”
president. Today, few would defend Nixon’s Watergate
or the cover-up that he directed. The majority opinion
was wrong.
• In 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq, it was con
troversial, but around half of the nation supported the
action. The memory of 9-11 was still fresh and we wanted
revenge. But as with Vietnam, as the Iraq War dragged
on with no end in sight, public opinion changed. Today,
a majority believe the war was a mistake. The majority
opinion in 2003 was wrong.
In all of these examples, public opinion shifted and
history judges these issues differently than they were
viewed at the time. In the midst of a controversy, it’s dif
ficult to see events clearly.
None of us know how the heated issues being debated
today will be judged in the future. The opinions we hold
so dearly now could be completely wrong and our
grandchildren and great-grandchildren may think we
were really, really dumb.
Only one thing is certain: History will judge us and the
views we espouse today with a lens we don’t have.
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet
Newspapers. He can be reached at mike@mainstreet-
news.com.
letter to the editor
Defends Obama’s record
Dear Editor:
I would like to thank Mr. Siegendorf for his letter commenting
on Mike Buffington’s editorial of May 31. He did so without making
any derogatory remarks about Democrats or Mr.Obama and that is
appreciated.
Mr. Buffington’s editorial was about the characteristics of
Trumpism, and his first point called it “a political outlook based on
fog and vapor.”
Mr. Siegendorf stated Trump supporters think this of Democrats,
Clinton and the Obama administration. He says, “Obama thought
giving a speech was doing something. He gave a speech and moved
on to his next pompous lecture with no meaningful follow-up on
much of anything.”
Donald Trump did learn one truth in life that he constantly prac
tices. If you keep saying something over and over again, even though
it isn’t tme, most people will come to believe it as truth.
The inability to appreciate what the previous administration
accomplished has been exacerbated by Mr. Tmmp repeatedly say
ing this — “Obama said it but did nothing,” and so many believe it.
Looking at the facts, it is obvious Mr. Obama made the speeches,
but he certainly had very meaningful follow-up. Facts are not cov
ered in fog or vapor but denial is and many wish to deny that in the
past eight years, anything was accomplished. Here are just a few
major examples of what he did do.
1. Before Mr. Obama was elected in 2008, we started experienc
ing the worse worldwide recession since 1929. After taking office,
President Obama made speeches to and about Wall Street’s conniv
ing and failures. The Great Depression was partly due to regulations
put up by the Republican party in 1921. It caused failure. Republicans
re-established many of those same mles under President Bush and
once again, the economy failed. President Obama had the Federal
government make loans to those banks (which had to be and were
paid back). The president did not stop there, though, he also made
speeches and got Congress to pass regulations which hopefully
would keep this from ever happening again. Mr. Tmmp and the
Republican Congress are working hard to re-implement those very
laws that got us in that jam in the first place (fog, vapor)
2. Obama made trips and speeches in Michigan when he first took
office to let the auto industry know the government would back them
and NOT let them go bankrupt (opposed by Republicans). Then he
got legislation passed that carried out what he said. It worked.
3. Many trips and speeches were made across America to talk
about the Health Care Act and what it would mean to our citizens,
and he got it passed by Congress. These trips and speeches were
opposed and derided by the Republicans. Mr. Trump has held
“campaign” rallies since being elected to talk about himself, at our
expense, (vapor)
4. Mr. Obama re-established respect for America through-out the
world. No, not with every country because the ones run by dictators
(all the ones Mr. Siegendorf mentioned) did not like being called
down by the Obama administration on their human rights violations
and issues, but the rest of the world was once again proud to be
associated with America. Mr. Tmmp does not even seem to realize
how the world is now laughing at us, especially after this past week,
(fog, vapor)
5. Mr. Obama made speeches and took a tough stance on environ
mental issues here in America. He implemented regulations on the
chemical industry to quit manufacturing harmful pesticides and for
farmers to quit using them. It has been proven that these pesticides
are harmful to all pollinators and over 1,800 species, especially
honey bees and therefore affect our food supplies and health. Mr.
Trump re-instated the use of these chemicals to the Dow Chemical
Co. because they gave him $1,000,000+ for his election campaign. I
would say he’s a bought man, but fog can cloud opinion and cause
vaporous observations.
6. In Paris, Obama got 192 countries to come together to talk about
environmental issues and all agreed to do whatever they could over
an agreed period of time to make our air, water and earth cleaner
by signing a pledge to make the planet better. For the most part,
Democrats feel that America is great and was on the road to greater
sustainability with the protective resolutions and laws put into place
by the Obama administration. Now, unfortunately, we fear that soon
Americans will be the ones wearing surgical masks when venturing
outdoors, due to drastic air pollution thanks to our president’s latest
move of fog and vapor.
Many of the things that the Obama administration pushed for were
to protect our quality of life, as well as monetary interests and revi
talizing jobs, but if your life quality isn’t good money and jobs really
don’t make much difference
I am sorry Mr. Siegendorf, but just looking at these few major dif
ferences between former President Obama and President Trump
cause me to agree with Mike Buffington’s statement that Tmmpism
is a political outlook based on fog and vapor, otherwise one would
recognize that America already is great and the things Mr. Tmmp is
doing are not.
Sincerely,
Margaret Holifield
Maysville
The Jackson Herald
Founded 1875
Merged with The Commerce News 2017
The Official Legal Organ of Jackson County, Ga.
Herman Buffington, Publisher 1965-2005
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher & Editor
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher & Advertising Manager
Angela Gary Associate Editor Features
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Ron Bridgeman Reporter
Ben Munro Sports Editor
Charles Phelps Sports Reporter
Wesleigh Sagon Photographer/Features
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