Trapped Like a Rat

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Thu, 9 Feb 2006 09:30:34 -0600

Trapped Like a Rat

 

 

 

 

Trapped Like a Rat

By William Rivers Pitt

t r u t h o u t | Perspective

 

Thursday 09 February 2006

 

 

The funeral for civil rights leader Coretta Scott King on Tuesday

was quite a sight to see. The depth of sadness in the room could not

be overcome by the happiness that came with the celebration of her

life and accomplishments. It was the measure of Mrs. King's impact

upon our society that four presidents - Carter, Bush, Clinton and Bush

- sat before her flower-draped casket and spoke of her life.

 

And then, of course, the foolishness began. The nattering nabobs

of network nonsense blithered into their cable news studios to deplore

all the political statements that were served up before the

appreciative crowd in that church. It was the Wellstone funeral all

over again.

 

Let's be clear. The life of Coretta Scott King was one that

involved politics from every angle. Any lifelong struggle against

poverty, racism and war is going to be a life immersed in politics.

That is simply the way it is; because so many politicians and

political ideologies center around statements and legislation that

directly add to the burdens of the poor and minorities, any person

choosing to fight poverty and racism is going to wind up dealing in

politics.

 

Gandhi was elected to no office in his entire lifetime, but every

action he took involved politics. The same can be said for Martin

Luther King Jr., who won no elections but changed politics in America

forever. Coretta Scott King held no office, but her work affected the

politics of this country in every way. Ask Gold Star mother Cindy

Sheehan, who received a warm telephone call from Mrs. King while

standing vigil outside George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford last August.

If this was not a political act, then political acts do not exist.

 

Politics belonged in that church on Tuesday. Period.

 

A good deal of the humbug arising from the political statements at

the funeral are based upon the fact that George W. Bush changed his

schedule to appear at the event. Because he did this, the thinking

goes, he should be above the pointed criticism he absorbed up on that

stage. Smart money says he came to the funeral only to avoid the

criticism he would have received had he not shown up with those three

other presidents. Smart money likewise says he came to try and shore

up his poll numbers with African Americans; his support among this

constituency stands in the low single digits, well within the margin

of error in any poll, suggesting his actual support among this group

is zero. This is, however, an issue for another day.

 

The central tenet of the civil rights movement has, is and will

always be one simple truth: one must speak truth to power in order to

affect change. This was the maxim by which Coretta Scott King lived

her life, and the maxim by which her husband lived and ultimately died

by. Had her funeral not involved speaking truth to power, the ceremony

would have been incomplete. George W. Bush heard on Tuesday some hard

truths that his fanatical insulation has to date spared him from. It

may have been the healthiest moment this republic has absorbed in years.

 

President Jimmy Carter, who has come to be one of the harshest

critics of Mr. Bush, hurled fire across the stage over the deplorable

administration response to Hurricane Katrina. " This commemorative

ceremony this morning and this afternoon is not only to acknowledge

the great contributions of Coretta and Martin, but to remind us that

the struggle for equal rights is not over, " said Carter. " We only have

to recall the color of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and

Mississippi, those who were most devastated by Katrina, to know that

there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans. "

 

Carter also took a moment to drop a brick over the recent

revelations that the NSA has been spying on Americans, without court

approval or warrants, at the behest of Mr. Bush. " It was difficult for

them personally, " said Carter, " with the civil liberties of both

husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret

government wiretapping, other surveillance, and as you know,

harassment from the FBI. "

 

By far, the harshest criticism came from Rev. Joseph Lowery, a

King protégé, who spoke of Mrs. King's staunch opposition to the

occupation of Iraq. " She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart

bombs on missions way afar, " said Lowery. " We know now there were no

weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew, and we knew,

that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions

without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war, billions more, but

no more for the poor. "

 

Would Coretta Scott King have approved of this? One can be certain

that the woman who said " If American women would increase their voting

turnout by ten percent, I think we would see an end to all of the

budget cuts in programs benefiting women and children " would have

certainly approved.

 

This was a day for speaking truth to power, but it was more than

that. Mr. Bush and his people have worked incredibly hard to keep this

president from hearing anything that rubs against what he believes to

be true. He speaks before hand-picked crowds of adoring supporters,

never once seeing the face of someone who thinks he is running the

nation into the ground. Millions upon millions of protesters have

followed his every move, and yet it is almost certain he has never

laid eyes upon a single one of them.

 

On Tuesday, by his own design. George W. Bush was trapped like a

rat on that stage. He was forced to listen to eloquent denunciations

of his politics and his policies, perhaps for the first time since he

took office. The effect upon him was clear; during the speeches

delivered by Rev. Lowery and president Carter, Bush looked as if he

was sucking on a particularly bitter lemon.

 

When one speaks truth to power, especially arrogant power, that is

usually the effect. Coretta Scott King would have approved.

 

William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally

bestselling author of two books: War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't

Want You to Know and The Greatest Sedition Is Silence.

 

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