Historical Comment

Over the past few days I've been seeing images of swastikas painted on the offices of Congressmen, people brandishing guns at Town Hall meetings, and individuals who seem to think that it is legitimate "free speech" to shout down and drown out their opponents rather than engage them in dialogue. So maybe it's worth remembering some words of wisdom delivered by Nelson Rockefeller at the 1964 Republican Convention, at a time when similar efforts were being employed in an effort to stifle civil rights and diplomacy. At that time he proposed language for the party's platform that repudiated the efforts of "irresponsible, extremist groups" to exercise undue influence in shaping Republican efforts. He saw the purposes of this minority as "wholly alien to the sound and honest conservatism that has firmly based the Republican party in the best of a century's traditions, wholly alien to the sound and honest Republican liberalism that has kept the party abreast of human needs in a changing world, wholly alien to the broad middle course that accommodates the mainstream of Republican principles." He went on to add: "Our sole concern must be the future well-being of America, and of freedom and respect for human dignity-- the preservation and enhancement of these principles upon which this nation has achieved its greatness." Obviously, there are extremists of every political stripe. Is it too much of a stretch to ask for some responsible leaders today, in the Rockefeller mold, to step forward and renounce their actions and allow public debate to occur in an air of relative responsibility and civility?