TV brings liberal a hero
I rarely agree with Daily Pilot columnist Steve Smith. My letter two
years ago taking umbrage to his adulation of what he termed
Schwarzenegger’s “family values” resulted in a call from a Pilot
editor asking me to write a column for this paper. So Smith is
ironically responsible for giving this liberal a chance to be heard
every few weeks.
I’m also beholden to him, since his point of view often provides
me with the counterpoint to create a column wherein I present an
opposing point of view. He fuels my creativity.
Smith’s eschewing of television never much bothered me. I’m a
reader myself, and I rarely watch any TV.
But since I’ve known my good friend Dave, I’ve been introduced to
public and other educational television. (I am also hooked on
“Deadwood” and mourn the passing of “Six Feet Under” from HBO, which
are, as is Shakespeare, full of sex and violence, and contain
outrageous amounts of cursing as well and intense grappling with
complicated life issues.)
Now Smith has said that we liberals watch a bunch of drivel and
believe God is a four-letter word. For the record, I believe in God
but read “Harry Potter” books the day they come out.
Since I do not have cable, I watch the HBO shows (including Bill
Maher’s) at Dave’s. When he isn’t watching these favorites, Dave is a
public television and CNN aficionado. So I watch the news too.
And CNN is how I got to hear Democratic Louisiana Sen. Mary
Landrieu’s Senate floor speech of Sept. 8. Dave TiVo’d it for me, or
I never would have seen it or read it.
I had pretty much given up on finding a strong, outspoken Democrat
who might bring together our party in the face of the Bush regime.
But Landrieu’s 20-minute speech contained the makings of a future
president.
In this speech Landrieu took responsibility for any mishandling of
the Katrina flooding disaster. She did not blame or point the finger
at her staff, as some in Washington have.
She told the Senate the buck stopped with her and strongly
defended her staff, her governor, parish leaders, and all the brave
citizens in her state who saved lives and kept up spirits.
“Our local leaders never once flinched from their duty to protect
their residents and save every man, woman or child, regardless of
race or income. It was so desperate that the law enforcement didn’t
have to triage. The people were triaging themselves. In other words,
when the boat drove up, they would put the old people first in the
boat. Then they would put the babies in the boat. And all the young
‘healthy’ people would just stay on the roof until the boat could
come back. Sometimes it did, and in some cases it was too late.”
Pausing often to prevent tears or anger, Landrieu thanked all the
people from other states who had offered help to her people. She
asked for help, noting that 8,000 of her National Guard has been to
Iraq twice, and 3,000 of them will return this month to no homes.
Then Landrieu fearlessly took on Washington. She told of how many
times she had asked for help to repair the levees. She said her state
had been neglected time and again.
She added, “Washington rolled the dice, and Louisiana lost.”
Her conclusion: “I intend to find out why the federal response,
particularly the response of FEMA, was so incompetent and insulting
to the people of our states.” (She included her neighbors in
Mississippi.)
She reiterated how she had cried in anguish on national television
and prayed to God. “It was an anguished cry of plea to the only
person that I thought could hear, and that was God himself.”
A native Louisianian, she, too, lost her childhood home. I can
only imagine her anguish with this next storm, Hurricane Rita. She is
the kind of leader who will mourn not only for her own citizens but
agonize over those in other vulnerable states.
I would never have heard this speech had I not had a friend who
watched television. If you missed it, you can search for it on Google
Mary Landrieu. Her speech is on that site.
So, to Steve Smith, thanks again for a column idea. And parents,
if your child is a senior in high school and needs to write one of
those college essays about whom they admire, I recommend Mary
Landrieu. And for you Republicans, she even believes in God.
* SUE CLARK lives in Costa Mesa and is a therapist in Newport
Beach. She can be reached at o7tallteacher@comast.netf7 or (949)
275-4905.
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