Clint Eastwood made a sensation with an empty chair. It may not have been political. It may not
have been wise. But he is neither a politician nor a sage. He is a dramatist and he created brilliant
theater. He also pointed out the real reason for political conventions: they have nothing to do
with education, with laying out of policies, with convincing anyone of the message of the hosting
party. Conventions provide entertainment, nothing more nor less. They are designed to offer lollipops as rewards
to the party faithful, a panorama for those who love spectacle, one grand Barnum and Romney (in this
case) circus for the already believers. The number of balloons is more important than the number of
wise decisions, assuming there are any left to be made.
You know who sits in the empty chair? You do, and I do, and the rest of us who still believe
that democrats and/or republicans uphold the dignity of the democratic process. For it is
democracy herself that used to occupy that chair, a system with an even chance for the average Jane
to make a decent living in an equitable environment. The chair is empty because our basic institutions
have abandoned it. Never mind the financial and banking institutions: when did you last see a neighborhood banker in a grey suit who even knew your name let alone respected you. You are a
nuisance to him, unless and until he can empty your pockets.
And it's not only the financiers that have abandoned democratic principles. Have you looked closely
at the health and medical institutions lately? I hope not, because you were most likely dismayed at the
contempt shown for the well being of the patient. There is at least one
famous medical institution that puts research grant money way ahead of patient care. And it is
not alone.
There are exceptions, of course, like some beautiful people who have recently helped my new hip and myself make friends with each other. But shouldn't the honest and trustworthy be the rule, rather than the
exception? Trust today
has turned to ruthlessness and greed, to avarice and lack of respect. Those are pretty wobbly
underpinnings for any society and ours is pretty wobbly.
Recently the Pentagon proposed awarding medals of bravery to military personnel who operate
remote-controlled weapons that can wipe out cities 7500 miles away. That would leave thousands
of empty chairs, wouldn't it? Does anyone care about the morality of killing parents and children
in distant lands? Where is the bravery in sitting in an air-conditioned room and pushing a few buttons so that armed drones can wipe out
families unnamed and unknown? Should it be called the WE WIN medal? What exactly would we
win: incivility, heartlessness, brainless savagery? The empty brains that dreamed up such an
abomination, to glorify death to others as a national goal, should qualify for a few empty chairs in
our national prisons.*
Eastwood's empty chair symbolizes the deterioration of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It's the
loser's chair that every one of us occupies, because we have allowed the Drone mentality
to dominate our thinking. According to Wikibooks, "the drone is often described as simply being a fat, lazy bee that is
unable to care for himself".
Medals for fat lazy bees? Is that what we now stand for? How about an award for the health care workers that are responsible for my being
able to stand on my own two feet. How about a Citizen's Award for those who help democracy once again stand on her own two feet? We could
even call it the Panda Prize, for those who, against all odds, looking at insurmountable challenges, faced with certain loss, somehow
pull off an unimaginable feat that has the rest of us cheering and makes life seem joyous once again.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2012
*Those of you interested in the Drone Program can find more information at this site.