CITIZENS Barbara's
Column Though her biweekly column is no
longer carried in the (Quincy) Patriot Ledger, it appears regularly in the Salem Evening
News and elsewhere. Do Not Fear, for Zeus is
Here Just when the world really needs a fresh
start, along comes a new year. Just when technology seems to have
replaced authentic living, along comes Y2K, to remind us not to put false gods before us. Just as the image of politics and
politicians sinks to the bottom of the swamp, Minnesota voters show that a truthful,
genuine person can still win an election. In ancient Greek theatre, a crane-like
"deus ex machina" deposited a god on stage when mankind needed rescuing. As
special effects go, this device was fairly primitive, but the drama was impressive, and
still is. Just when we begin to wonder if music
and dance have anywhere to go from punk, funk, rap and stomp, along come Andrea Bocelli
and Sarah Brightman with new young voices for opera and romance, and Michael Flatley with
a brand new vision to excite old and young alike. Just when we are about to starve because
studies have shown that everything is bad for us, along comes a study which informs us
that chocolate increases longevity. Meanwhile, medical breakthrough extends the lives of
many AIDS patients and improves the lives of elderly people with bad hearts and bad hips. Just when we've reached the conclusion
there is nothing new under the sun, someone invents a Furby, makes a movie about a Southie
math genius or Shakespeare in love, thinks to put spinach on pizza. Old things like velvet
gowns and Volkswagens are freshened and revived. Creepy things like cloned calves,
televised euthanasia, and Bill Clinton's sex life give us a reason to talk about morality
again -- before it's too late. Always, historically, before it's too
late, something or someone comes along. Hitler his way to a new world order?
Churchill appears on the scene to put him down. Japan refusing to surrender? Truman is not
afraid to use a new weapon developed by Fermi and other scientists who came along just in
time. National malaise? Ronald Reagan rides
into the White House to lift us up. Property taxes driving people from their homes?
California's Howard Jarvis becomes the father of the Tax Revolt. Inflation in
double-digits? Alan Greenspan arrives at the Federal Reserve. National debt approaching
the point of no return? Ross Perot becomes a national figure just in time to make us
comprehend it and encourage deficit reduction. At the state level, the Pioneer
Institute is formed by entrepreneur Lovett Peters to seek ideas for "better
government," just as Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci get elected with a mandate to try
them. Young Charlie Baker goes from Pioneer to state government just in time to get
Medicaid costs under control, then takes his budget talents to Administration and Finance. Just as the welfare system reaches
critical mass in destruction of lives, Democrats and Republicans come together in support
of reform. Just as public education's failure is about to be outed, someone invents the
concept of charter schools, and other reformers propose tests and vouchers. Just when it looks as if lying and
cheating have become accepted ways to advance in society, a U.S. president shows us how
much trouble they can still cause. New Year's prediction: new Minnesota
Governor Jesse Ventura will be the best thing to happen to U.S. politics since the Pledge
of Allegiance. As you read this, politicians all over the country are rethinking their
public personas, considering the possibility that "telling it like it is" may be
coming back into style, wondering if they can fake authenticity. John Kerry, noting
Ventura's refusal to talk about his Vietnam experience, may stop showing his home war
movies of himself in action. Al Gore may take lessons in talking respectfully instead of
condescendingly to the people. Marty Meehan may shave his head. Some aspiring young politicians will
miss the point, and decide to take up professional wrestling, or ride with a Harley
motorcycle club before they run for office, just like Jesse. But other young people, who
thought that just being themselves would disqualify them from the phony, consultant-run
world of electoral happening, might reconsider and try candor as a campaign theme -- just
like Jesse. Optimism shouldn't be an excuse for
overconfidence: our American dream is still teetering on the edge of self-destruction, led
to the brink by a decade of politics-as-usual, political correctness, general moral
decline, and the public apathy these things reflect and inspire. But just when the world needs it, along
comes the baby New Year, the last child of the '90s. Let's welcome it with the optimism
and determination that it needs to take us bravely forward to whatever Y2K will bring. |