By Edwin Cooney
Several times since I began writing these weekly musings, I've made reference to the foresight and careful thoughtfulness and eloquence of President John Kennedy’s June 11th, 1962 Commencement Address at Yale University. In that speech, he asserted that one of the reasons it is difficult to adopt genuinely meaningful legislation is largely due to our tendency to rely on stereotypical and mythical political solutions to solve national issues.
Observed President Kennedy: "As every past generation has had to disenthrall itself from an inheritance of truisms and stereotypes, so we in our time must move on from the reassuring and repetition of stale phrases to a new, difficult but essential confrontation with reality. For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deceptive, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears, we subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
Back in 1962, JFK maintained that our concerns were a matter of different strategies in the achievement of the same goals. However, sixty years later as we enter 2023, we have moved on from an era of general consensus to an age of ideological separation. Families, neighborhoods, states, and America as a whole have all been overwhelmed by "free agent” politics and politicians.
Hence the question: how can you and I grasp the truth, thus enabling us to create solutions to our national problems?
First, we must strive to determine what lies at the root of our national discontent. Second, we must make every conscious effort to comprehend and consider the fears and woes of our fellow citizens. Third, we must educate ourselves on how the government operates. For instance, how many of us understand what it takes to create and pass legislation through Congress? I have somewhat of an idea, but my knowledge is far from complete. Fourth, we must separate the questions of political ideology from the rules governing the passing of legislation in the House and the Senate.
While it's unlikely that most Americans will ever do it, it is vitally important that those of us who are so intent on spouting our opinions make at least some effort to be knowledgeable in what it really takes to pass laws in the America of 2023. Our right to have opinions is pretty close to absolute in a free society, but the weight of opinion is very largely dependent on the factors we allow in reaching our conclusions.
For too many of us, political ideology even more than practicality dictates our opinions! All I can do for myself and urge you to do is to keep in mind that however you think or feel, try and avoid the distractions brought on by both lies and myths!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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