The unfortunate but real self-importance of politicians - Remembering Jack Kemp
 |
| Jack Kemp led an extraordinary American life in professional athletics, the U.S. Congress, a cabinet member, and public service, but is largely forgotten today. | |
Aside from describing politicians' ambitions, there was a more subtle reference. Politicians' ambitions are fed by their sense of entitlement and self-importance.
This self-importance and entitlement is actual on every level, from the U.S. Senate down the food chain. You only have to look at our local politicians for this self-importance, especially on social media.
We won't bore you with details. Reviewing this story about Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's widely publicized birthday party tells you everything you need to know.
Somehow, these politicians feel their importance is eternal. As Marcus Aurelius said, "All is ephemeral - fame and the famous as well."
This takes us to the lede in this story, Jack Kemp. Only people of a certain age and those who follow American political history will recall him, but in a sense, he had an All-American career.
Football fans will remember Kemp's early days in the American Football League's Buffalo Bills. Kemp was the Bills quarterback, leading them to two consecutive AFL Championships in the days before the AFL-NFL merger and the birth of the Superbowl.
After his successful pro football career, Republican Kemp entered politics. The native Californian and Occidental College alum was elected to Congress in 1970 and served a suburban Buffalo, N.Y. district for 18 years.
Kemp left Congress after President George H.W. Bush appointed him Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where he served honorably for the entire four-year term that ended when Bush lost the presidency to Bill Clinton. Kemp ran for president in 1988 and was Senator Bob Dole's Vice Presidential nominee in 1996.
After the 1996 election, Kemp was active in several policy initiatives battling poverty and warning about Russia's wrong direction in the early 2000s. Throughout his career, Kemp had ups and downs and his share of critics.
Nonetheless, when Kemp passed away in 2009, he left an honorable legacy reflecting the best of America. Yet today, if you ask anyone under 40, most are understandably unaware of his accomplishments, let alone his name.
This lack of historical knowledge among many Americans should be a reminder to all of our local political hacks. Someone like Jack Kemp, who led a long, fulfilling, and meaningful public service career, is now just a historical footnote and largely forgotten.
To Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her three city councilmen: In the end, all four of you are on your way out - we are all ephemeral.
That is your destiny - behave for the benefit of people and not your personal proclivities, and maybe a few people will fondly remember you!
Posts
Post a Comment