I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one of the Unsung Heroes of American history, the late Adlai Stevenson. He was Governor of Illinois and the Democratic nominee for President in ’52 and ’56. After losing twice to Ike he was asked how it felt, to which he replied : ” It hurts too much to laugh and I’m too old to cry.”
During the campaign he said of the Republicans : ” If they stop telling lies about us we’ll stop telling the truth about them.” Sound familiar ? At one rally, someone in the crowd yelled out : ” Don’t worry Adlai, every thinking American is voting for you ! “, to which Adlai shouted back : ” That’s not enough. I need a majority ! ”
JFK appointed him US Ambassador to the United Nations and he famously called out the Russians for lying about placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. When they refused to answer his question about whether or not the missiles were there and told him he would get his answer ” in due time “, he emphatically shot back : ” I’m prepared to wait until hell freezes over ! ”
In these times of hysterical carnival barking in the public square it may do us all well to pause and reflect on Stevenson’s wise definition of true citizenship : ” Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”
Fred Rich LaRiccia
especially when you compare him to vapid posturing of some of his successors, like Kirkpatrick, Bolton, and Moynihan. He put up with being hung out to dry by the Kennedys during the Bay of Pigs invasion. He goes back to the time before when the U.N. was treated like Planned Parenthood is treated today.