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I had planned to tell you about my summer vacation this week... but that will have to wait. There are more pressing items on the table.
I had a dream last night... or a premonition, maybe. The year is 2035, the scene: Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, where my friend and high school classmate, Louise Burke, is entertaining her great-grandchildren. Now, you have to remove yourself from the present to understand this; it is no longer September, 1998; it is nearly a half-century later. We have had time to reflect. The lessons of the late twentieth century have been passed on to our children's children.
Fifteen year-old Margie, Louise's oldest great-granddaughter, was extremely eager to talk to her Grandma Burke. She was what we might have called a "bookworm," but as sharp as can be. Margie told her great-grandmother that they had studied the twentieth century this past year in history, but that the term ended just as they reached the Clinton Administration. Her teacher, Mrs. Jones, (a 21st century, Democrat, soccer mom herself) seemed relieved; but Margie was curious. So she was eager to talk to her great-grandmother, the only person she knew who had been an adult way back in the twentieth century.
"Grandma, is it true that President Clinton had sex with an intern... not once but more than a dozen times... in the Oval Office??" Margie asked in amazement. "Now, Margie, you shouldn't be talking about such things," Grannie Burke replied, as her face turned red. "In the Oval Office!?"
"Well he must have," Margie went on. She was old enough to read and understand the Starr report. "And he stood before the American people, pointed his finger at them, and denied it?" Again she probed. "And he sent his wife and his cabinet and his friends out to spread this lie on his behalf? And he let this go on for over half a year?" Margie was hungry for answers. Grannie Burke tried to explain. "Well Margie, the time went by very quickly. After all, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were hitting home runs nearly every day. We were all distracted."
"And is it true, Grannie, that President Clinton admitted the lie only after Starr produced the stain on the dress? Is that the only thing that forced him to 'fess up? If it hadn't have been for that, he could have maintained the lie?" Grannie wiggled uncomfortably in her chair. "Now stop it, Margie; that was a private matter between the president, his wife, Miss Lewinsky, and the dry cleaner."
"And even after he confessed to 'misleading' the American people, is it true that he continued to deny that he had sex with her?" "Not exactly," Grannie replied. "His story was that she was having sex with him, but he was not having sex with her."
"Did he really say that? Really? And people actually bought that? I can't believe it! People actually believed that line? How could you people have been so naive back then?" Margie was stunned. Grannie Burke tried to explain, "Well, the lawyers were very persuasive. And after all, Ken Starr was out to get Clinton; James Carville told us so. And after, all as far as we knew, James Carville had never lied to us... even if the president had."
"Didn't that line make his lawyers look like fools?" Ah, Grannie Burke had a quick answer for this one. "Don't be silly, Margie. All lawyers looked like fools back then."
"And weeks later, when the polls said he should apologize, he came out and apologized, over and over again. Did people actually believe the apology?" "I guess so, Margie. The president had a way with words, you know," Grannie smiled wistfully. "And when he fluttered his eyelids, and bit his lower lip, we all could feel his pain. It was so touching."
"Did anybody ask him if he was really sorry for what he did, or just sorry he got caught?" Margie had been waiting all summer for an answer to this one. "I don't think so, Margie. President Clinton never had a press conference after that. He couldn't afford to."
"And if President Clinton cared so much about 'the children,' as he claimed so many times, how could he engage in risky behavior that could be so painful to his number one child, his daughter? Did anyone ever ask him how he could have used such poor judgment?" There was a lull in the conversation. Grannie just sat there and stared into the distance. After all, she was nearly 90 years old... she could afford to. So Margie added, "Well, I guess that explains why Chelsea turned out the way she did."
"Were all presidents that stupid and immoral, Grannie?" Grannie nodded her head, "That's what the Clinton administration tried to tell us, honey. He was no worse than any of the rest, I guess."
"But no other president lied as many times as he did, or treated the American people so poorly. How could the American people still support him as their leader? Didn't they consider honor, integrity, honesty, and morality to be mandatory requirements for the president? Didn't they read the words of John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, and other presidents who spoke eloquently about the importance of character? Did you guys even study history back then, Grannie? I don't understand; how can this be?" "I don't remember, Margie. But unemployment was down, the stock market was up, inflation was low, the budget was balanced... and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke the home run record. These were very good times for us, Margie."
"Yea Grannie, but we learned in our Economics class that the president has about as much control over the stock market as he does the home run record. How could the people ignore all this? How could they say that the president's continual lies and deception were not horribly destructive to his presidency? Was everybody so selfish that all they could think about was their pocketbook?" "I don't know, Margie," was all Grannie Burke could muster at this point.
But Margie was not satisfied. "How could the people not see that this behavior, and their tolerance of it, reflected horribly on the presidency, on the country, and more importantly, on themselves? Did they think so little of themselves that they allowed their president to treat them so disrespectfully... and get away with it? How could they do that, Grannie? How could they do that to themselves? How could they stoop so low? Is that what all baby boomers were like, Grannie?"
"Well, Margie, I guess we were all just victims of the spin. I think I read that somewhere on the Internet, back the late summer of 1998."
Yea... that's the ticket.... we are just victims of the spin.
If you want to write more, we're open to offerings from other boomers. If you have something to say of interest to boomers, write it as well as you can in 500-800 words, and send it to us. We can't guarantee we'll publish it, but we'll surely consider it.
For more of Hershel's essays, check the BBHQ Archives or the Boomer Essays.
Hershel will have something else to say on September 21; mark your calendar to come back to BBHQ every Monday.
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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Copyright © 1998 Baby Boomer HeadQuarters (BBHQ) All rights reserved.
rev. 11/29/98