Uncommon Denominator
The Newsletter of the Commonweal Institute
http://www.commonwealinstitute.org/
"It has been observed, that they who most loudly
clamour for liberty, do not most liberally grant it."
– Samuel Johnson, from the Life of Milton
CONTENTS
Talking Points: Ghosts of Mount Misery
Wit and Wisdom: Two choice quips
Quoted! George Bush on global geography
Check It Out: Environmental websites
Eye on the Right: American authoritarianism
Featured Article: "Why Conservatives Can’t Govern"
Happenings: Monthly round-up
Endorsements: David Brock
Get Involved: Spread the word; become a contributor
TALKING POINTS
Once upon a time, in a small Maryland town on the Chesapeake Bay called St. Michaels, a teenaged slave named Frederick Douglass beat up a white farmer named Edward Covey who had been hired to "break" the difficult boy. That fight was a turning point in Douglass’s life, liberating him from fear and instilling self-respect, and it set him on a path that would lead him out of slavery and into a career as the preeminent African American spokesman of the nineteenth century.
The fight took place at Covey’s home, a relatively modest brick manor called "Mount Misery," purportedly because of the gloomy temperament of the Englishman who originally built it in 1804. Today, the home is owned by U.S. Secretrary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who bought it in 2003 for $1.5 million, and now uses it as a weekend retreat (closer to Washington D.C. than is his other vacation home in Taos, New Mexico). The house, which had been a bed-and-breakfast before Rumsfeld acquired it, has five bedrooms, five fireplaces, four bathrooms, and sits on four beautifully landscaped acres. Recent renovations to Mount Misery were overseen by the Secretary’s wife, Joyce Rumsfeld.
Clearly there’s a story here, one involving race and power and history, but just what that story amounts to is not entirely clear. Not many people have taken note of the case, given the surfeit of other matters to worry about nowadays, and those few who have taken note tend to fall into either of two camps. A handful of lefty bloggers have suggested that there’s something sinister about the historical coincidence, and that it’s "not surprising" that Rumsfeld now owns the house where so many slaves were beaten and broken. On the right, meanwhile, a few commentators have suggested, predictably, that the New York Times somehow endangered national security by including a photograph of Mount Misery (from the end of the driveway) in its recent puff-piece about St. Michaels as an up-and-coming resort community. And that’s where the debate, such as it is, stands, having petered out into simplified perspectives on either side.
Some context, as always, is helpful. First, St. Michaels, whose local economy long depended upon crabbing and oystering in addition to farming, has undergone a remarkable transformation. In 1833, as Douglass recalled in My Bondage and My Freedom, "[t]here were a few comfortable dwellings in it, but the place, as a whole, wore a dull, slovenly, enterprise-forsaken aspect." Moreover, a "drinking habit" had set in among the population, such that "it was admitted, by the few sober, thinking people who remained there, that St. Michael’s had become a very unsaintly, as well as an unsightly place." In the decades following the Civil War, it began to appeal to well-heeled folk from nearby cities who wanted a place to get away to. More recently, although its population still barely clears a thousand inhabitants, it has become quite fashionable indeed, with a number of high muckety-mucks having bought in. In addition to Rumsfeld, these include Vice President Dick Cheney and White House press secretary Tony Snow, among others. It’s uncertain whether the town’s drinking habit has abated any.
We also need a good sense of who Edward Covey and Frederick Douglass really were. Covey, as Douglass describes him, was a man unusually fit for his job as a tamer of slaves. Cruel, hypocritically religious, hyper-vigilant, and unyielding, "[h]e knew just what a man or boy could do, and he held both to strict account" and "had the faculty of making us feel that he was always present." We have no other writings, unfortunately, that might contradict such a description, but we also have no good reason not to believe Douglass’s account. And one thing is certain: Covey played a vital and malignant role in the power structure of a slave society. As for Douglass himself, it is important to have a clear understanding of just how central, and remarkable, a figure he was in American history. Born a slave, he went on to become one of the antislavery movement’s most effective orators; an independent writer, editor, and publisher; an influential autobiographer who powerfully shaped African American literature; a tireless campaigner for civil rights after the Civil War; Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia; U.S. Marshal; and U.S. ambassador to Haiti, among other positions of public service.
So what does the purchase and refurbishing of the house by the Rumsfelds tell us? Why should we care? Why does it matter?
On a crude, practical level, perhaps it doesn’t matter. There’s certainly no shortage of other things to be concerned about right now, and the question of which politician owns what building can seem trivial next to such problems as global warming or religious war in the Middle East.
On a deeper level, however, the fate of Mount Misery represents something troubling. We might be tempted to see it as symbolizing the perseverance of a caste system whereby the poor, the weak, or the oppressed are made to work and fight and die while the privileged few reap the benefits. Donald Rumsfeld is no Edward Covey, of course, and no one is suggesting that he doesn’t work hard or that he advocates racial supremacy, but he does, by all accounts, evince the same overbearing personality whose power is based on intimidation and on the subservience of others, and he does work for an administration whose policies have been deeply harmful to the African American community. Although not put quite so explicitly, this is evidently the perspective shared by those liberal bloggers who see something "fitting" in the Rumsfeld-Mount Misery connection. But it doesn’t really get to the heart of the issue, for it leaves off at questions of race and power, as reflected in personality, without fully addressing the historical problem.
Here’s the rub. What the current state of Mount Misery (and its previous incarnation as a B-and-B) represents is an attitude toward history in which the meanings of past events, people, and places do not deserve our preservation, respect, or full understanding. It represents, in particular, an attitude toward American history in which legal property rights take precedence over the uncodified right of the people to their shared cultural past. From this view, the old Covey house in St. Michaels, Maryland, becomes just another piece of real estate on the "free" market, while anything that may have transpired there is erased, forgotten, or – more accurately – absorbed and homogenized into the modern story of American progress.
Secretary Rumsfeld himself might be responsive to such an argument. On April 29, 2005, during an award ceremony for Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld had this to say about history: "History is not always generous to the men and women who help to shape it. Great abolitionists like John Quincy Adams and Frederick Douglass would not live to see full equality for African Americans that they had envisioned and fought to bring about." (Read the full transcript of the event, if you can stand it, on the Department of Defense website at http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050429-secdef2622.html).
Indeed, history has not always been generous to its shapers! And one of the main reasons for that is not just that the historical course of events transcends the contributions of any single individual, but that we who are responsible for preserving and understanding history often fail to give its major figures their just due. Rumsfeld strained to make this point about Wolfowitz ("History will see Paul as one of the consequential thinkers and public servants of his generation"), but perhaps he should have looked closer to home, so to speak.
For would not the most fitting outcome for Mount Misery be as a museum wherein a key moment from the country’s past can find its rightful place in the public memory? The old Covey house, and the fight between slave and slave-breaker that took place there, are together emblematic of two of the fundamental themes of American history – on one hand, the horrors of bigotry, racial oppression, and legally sanctioned violence, and on the other hand, the nobility of the struggle against unjust authority. Our democracy has had to fight many such battles, and Douglass’s defeat of Covey symbolizes perhaps the most important dimension of the struggle, that of the fight against America’s own internal anti-democratic forces. Rumsfeld professes, certainly sincerely, to want to promote democracy around the world, and to fight for it if necessary. The Secretary, and those close to him personally and philosophically, could help to honor the tradition in which they see themselves by honoring Douglass’s lonely personal battle against tyranny. They can honor that battle by preserving Mount Misery as a public site of contemplation, where the meanings of democracy and despotism are given a human face, and a very American face. That would help keep St. Michaels from becoming merely a resort for the wealthy. That would help preserve its soul.
WIT AND WISDOM
"Still no letup in the Mideast crisis. Israeli planes have been dropping thousands of leaflets that warn Lebanese citizens to stay away from Hezbollah members. The leaflets also promote a special at Nate ‘n Al’s Deli in Tel Aviv." — Conan O’Brien
"President Bush says he is personally working on a solution for global warming. He says thanks to Republicans, soon every American will receive a voucher for a free popsicle." — Jay Leno
QUOTED!
"Russia’s big and so is China." – George W. Bush, in an unscripted moment during the G-8 summit
NOTICE
The Commonweal Institute is seeking a few volunteers to help map the social networks among progressive organizations. This is a good opportunity to strengthen the progressive movement, learn about social networks and network analysis, and do a short-term volunteer project in your own home during the next month or two. As a volunteer, you will be asked to contact individuals via e-mail and telephone interviews and to assist them in completing a short questionnaire. This volunteer work will require that you be comfortable doing phone interviews, using e-mail and Excel (no mathematics involved), have unlimited or generous telephone minutes available for long-distance calls, and be available to make calls during business hours (M-F, 9-5) to various parts of the country. A total of 100 questionnaires will be completed; the more volunteers we have and the more time they can put in, the faster we can get this work done. If you are interested in volunteering for the social network project, please contact Kate Forrest at 650-854-9796 or kforrest@commonwealinstitute.org.
CHECK IT OUT
As part of our ongoing effort to help people understand the specifics of environmental change in the modern world, particularly global warming, the Uncommon Denominator would like to recommend two websites that help bring the subject to life.
The first is NASA’s "Scientific Visualization Studio," at http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/search/mostrecent.html, which provides a wealth of information about conditions on the planet’s surface and in its atmosphere, including sea temperature, storms, ozone levels, precipitation, deforestation, fires, and arctic ice levels, among others. The mission of the studio is "to facilitate scientific inquiry and outreach within NASA programs through visualization. To that end, the SVS works closely with scientists in the creation of visualization products, systems, and processes in order to promote a greater understanding of Earth." The result is a fascinating repository of images and ongoing scientific imaging projects that is both educational and entertaining, both inspiring and sobering.
The second recommended website is the "Ecological Footprint Quiz," at http://myfootprint.org, which allows you to calculate, roughly, how much "nature" your lifestyle requires, and to translate that into how many planets would be required to sustain humanity if everybody used the same amount of natural resources. In 2005, the organization that designed the quiz, Redefining Progress, discovered that humanity’s ecological footprint is about 57 acres per person, while Earth’s biological capacity is just 41 acres per person – a 40% ecological "overshoot" that means we should all, as individuals, start living within our means.
Two very interesting sites. Check ‘em out.
EYE ON THE RIGHT
Recent years have made dramatically apparent what many people have suspected for a long time – that American conservatism is highly authoritarian, that it has become more so, and that, most troublingly, it displays an orientation toward "the authoritarian personality" who commands excessive obedience or loyalty by followers. There is also extensive research that backs up this claims. In his new book, "Conservative Without Conscience," former Nixon counsel John Dean reports on 50 years of academic research which has found that conservatives are much more likely to follow authoritarian leaders, and that about 25% of Americans are hardcore conservatives who will follow an authoritarian leader no matter what. These findings, Dean argues, provide crucial context for understanding the sharp rightward trend in modern American politics, the rhetorical strategies of elected conservatives, and the potential consequences for our society.
In a remarkable interview with MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, Dean says that "[t]here’s no question that, particularly the followers, they’re very aggressive in their effort to pursue and help their authority figure out or authority beliefs out. They will do what ever needs to be done in many regards. They will blindly follow. They stay loyal too long and this is the frightening part of it."
Both the video and a transcript of the interview are available at:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Video_50_year_study_says_conservatives_0711.html
FEATURED ARTICLE
The following is an excerpt from Alan Wolfe’s "Why Conservatives Can’t Govern," which appears in the July/August 2006 issue of Washington Monthly.
"Contemporary conservatism is first and foremost about shrinking the size and reach of the federal government. This mission, let us be clear, is an ideological one. It does not emerge out of an attempt to solve real-world problems, such as managing increasing deficits or finding revenue to pay for entitlements built into the structure of federal legislation. It stems, rather, from the libertarian conviction, repeated endlessly by George W. Bush, that the money government collects in order to carry out its business properly belongs to the people themselves. One thought, and one thought only, guided Bush and his Republican allies since they assumed power in the wake of Bush vs. Gore: taxes must be cut, and the more they are cut – especially in ways benefiting the rich – the better.
"But like all politicians, conservatives, once in office, find themselves under constant pressure from constituents to use government to improve their lives. This puts conservatives in the awkward position of managing government agencies whose missions – indeed, whose very existence – they believe to be illegitimate. Contemporary conservatism is a walking contradiction. Unable to shrink government but unwilling to improve it, conservatives attempt to split the difference, expanding government for political gain, but always in ways that validate their disregard for the very thing they are expanding. The end result is not just bigger government, but more incompetent government.
"‘Ideas,’ a distinguished conservative named Richard Weaver once wrote, ‘have consequences.’ Americans have learned something about the consequences of conservative ideas during the Bush years that they never had to confront in the more amiable Reagan period. As a way of governing, conservatism is another name for disaster. And the disasters will continue, year after year, as long as conservatives, whose political tactics are frequently as brilliant as their policy-making is inept, find ways to perpetuate their power."
Read the whole article at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0607.wolfe.html.
HAPPENINGS
Democracy Fest – Commonwel Institute Executive Director Laurie Spivak and Co-Founder Katherine Forrest spoke at the the third annual Democracy Fest, held July 14-16 in San Diego. Their panel, "Present Actions for Future Elections," address the challenge of "having a sustained impact beyond the ‘next election’ focus." Laurie described the Right’s development of conservative political infrastructure, how it has operated to move public opinion and the nation’s policy agenda to the right, and the window of opportunity progressives have for catching up by building their own infrastructure. Kate talked about two topics of interest to organizations that want to stengthen their capacity to communicate progressive values and ideas between elections: Expanding and Diversifying Membership of Grassroots Groups, and Strengthening Grassroots Groups’ Position and Influence.
Media Exposure – CI Fellow Dave Johnson has been invited to serve as a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, an online progressive periodical. One of his recent posts, "The Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water," analyzes the political tactic of "swiftboating" that the Republicans used so successfully against John Kerry and have subsequently used against other Democratic candidates, and can be read at: www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/the-swiftboaters-are-back_b_25223.html. Another of his essays, "Survivor Lebanon – Like Katrina, Americans On Their Own Again," (www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/survivor-lebanon-like-k_b_25455.html) led to a boisterous apperance on the Jay Severin radio show, with Dom Giordano sitting in. Read a description of the exchange at www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2006/07/radio_tonite.htm.
New Associates – The Commonweal Institute is proud to welcome Dahvi Wilson and Jeni Krencicki as associates. Dahvi Wilson is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she has been researching the development of the modern progressive movement and seeking to develop new solutions for encouraging strategic coordination within the progressive community. She also serves on the planning committee of the Next Generation Leadership Retreat with the Center for Whole Communities, the planning committee of Inspiring America, and the planning team of a Yale speaker series titled, "Shades of Green: Recognizing Diverse Environmental Leaders." She is beginning work with Redefining Progress to organize a gathering of progressive think tank leaders. Jeni Krencicki is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental Science at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. While at Yale, she has been busy creating and co-teaching the university’s first course addressing the environmental impacts of war and militarization, as well as working closely with classmate Dahvi Wilson on the "Progressive Synergy Project," an effort to design an innovative organizing model for increased collaboration within the Progressive movement. Her political experience includes working as an in-house consultant to Environment2004, coordinating the national environmental outreach for the Gore 2000 campaign, serving as a Bessette-Kennedy Fellow in Public Policy with the California Democratic Party, and working as a Conservation Organizer with the Sierra Club.
Recognition for Leonard Salle – The California State Assembly adjourned in memory of the late Leonard Salle, CI’s President and Co-Founder, on May 18. The Assemblypersons who proposed this honor were Ira Ruskin (of southern San Mateo County) and Sally Lieber (of northern Santa Clara County).
ENDORSEMENTS
"For all of us who are tired of being on the receiving end of the Republican Noise Machine’s ongoing assault, the Commonweal Institute has provided an antidote." – David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America
GET INVOLVED
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© 2006 The Commonweal Institute
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