9/13/08

Close your eyes and imagine ........


Tri-O’s
Oddities, observations & opinions
By Herb Kandel

Close your eyes and imagine ........

There is a scene near the end of the John Grisham 1989 film adaptation of his book thriller “A Time to Kill,” set in Mississippi, where the defense lawyer in his closing argument asks the jury to close their eyes and listen to a story. He is defending an African-American father who killed the white rapists of his daughter as he felt that the court would not punish the perpetrators. The attorney then weaves the detailed events of the rape and attempted murder of a 10-year-old girl. At the conclusion of the narrative, after the camera pans the grief-stricken faces of the jury, some whose shuttered eyes streak tears, he asks them to imagine the victim was white. This leads to a “not guilty” verdict.

The reason this climactic movie moment came to mind was an announcement by Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her husband that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. In the statement they asked that the “media respect our daughter and Levi’s [the baby’s father] privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.” And rightly so.

In her acceptance speech at the Republican convention Governor Palin said, “From the inside, no family ever seems typical. That’s how it is with us. Our family has the same ups and downs as any other — the same challenges and the same joys. Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.” That was the only alluded reference to the situation, and it was sufficient.

However, close your eyes and imagine it had been a daughter of Barack Obama in the same circumstances. What kind of a feeding frenzy would have evolved? Can you imagine the ditto-heads clamoring around Rush to spout forth about the teenage pregnancy rates and the inevitable mentioning, or the innuendos, if not outright diatribes pertaining to race. Then the Bill O’Reilly followers would be opining about the downfall of society as we know it. That would bring the Al Sharptons into the argument to further exacerbate a non-significant subject that had no justification being there in the first place.

Obama’s comment to the Palin pregnancy: “This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.” OK, enough said.

Let’s go forward:
Consider the senator from the densely inhabited state. He is one of the youngest men to run for the office of president and picks as a running mate an older, influential fellow senator more experienced in areas in which he does not yet have expertise. His middle name hints a foreign ethnicity. His education includes prestigious schools along with honors. He is backed by a strong political machine. Charm, good looks, quick thinking and oratory skills are attributes readily acknowledged.During debates his coolness, issue information and wit give him the edge. His attractive, fashionable wife at times becomes the center of attention, and their children occasionally act as such to steal the spotlight. Because he was the first of his kind who is considered a serious contender for the office, it took an inspired speech articulating his viewpoint along with his aspirations to win the votes of the undecided and to give assurance to the skeptics.The prospect of enemies, both near and from afar, together with a looming worsening Middle East and Asian state of affairs, demand immediate attention. The economy calls for an influx of new business so he vows to decrease taxes for the middle income earners. His opponent is a former naval officer known for his temperament and cutting corners who will later choose a sitting governor as his vice president choice.

Now close you eyes and imagine that all the above happened to .................
John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

In actuality, it did.

Imagine that!

http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2008/09/14/columnists/doc48cd7d01eee75327060306.txt