Biden on America's Lingering Cancer

 

 

Joe Biden's speech in Birmingham, Alabama two days ago has got me to thinking about a few things.

 

I think, therefore I rant....

 

His appearance in that historically tainted city was perfect. Birmingham was the scene of the most appalling atrocity of the entire civil rights era, an event that - fifty-six years ago this week - still stuns the senses of anyone with a pulse.

 

On September 15, 1963m a Baptist church in Birmingham was bombed by a group of racist bastards who actually believed they were performing some kind of heroic deed. Four little girls were blown to smithereens by these "heroes". Sadly, their names have been forgotten over the course of fifty years. Their martyrdom was more responsible than anything for the passage the following June of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Let us bow our heads, tip our hats and raise our glasses in loving memory of these four little gals. It may be a bit of a stretch to attempt all three of these things simultaneously, but what the heck, let's at least give it the old college try, ay?
`

The Littlest Martyrs

Addie Mae Collins (age 14)
Denise McNair (age 11)
Carole Robertson (age 14)
Cynthia Wesley (age 14) 

At the time, only one of the four people responsible for this atrocity was brought to justice. He was fined $100 and received a six month sentence for the possession of dynamite - I'm not kidding. In 1977 he would be retried and sent to prison where he died. Two others  were eventually put on trial in 2000 and convicted of murder. Only one of the four escaped justice by conveniently dying. C'est la vie. None of their names are worthy of mention. 

Oh, I wish I was in Dixie
Oy vey! Oy vey!

Biden's very admirable attempt to lance the boil that has infected the USA for generations was something that was needed and long-overdue, particularly in the age of Donald Trump. I have always believed that one's knowledge of American history is lacking if one is unaware of the history of the black experience. If you don't understand the black struggle, you don't understand American history

Me back in the day

On September 15, 1963, I was about a week into Kindergarten. The most traumatic event of that week was my mother insisting that I wear short pants to Mrs. Peavey's class one day. I would not start paying attention to the news for another five years. Although my parents would keep me appraised of momentous events that were happening within the sphere of my consciousness (John Glenn's orbiting of the earth, for example) they mercifully kept this one from me. They probably figured that I would be too terrified to attend church otherwise. I would not become aware of the littlest martyrs of the civil rights movement for another few years.

I have not come out in favor of any Democratic candidate thus far, and I won't until the day after the convention. All I can say is that the Democrats are insane to stay away from the polls on Election Day for no-other-reason that a blind hissy fit regarding who the nominee might turn out to be. I was not crazy about Hillary Clinton in 2016 - but I swallowed my pride and voted for her. We need to vote for whomever the nominee of that party might be. The alternatives are too horrible to even think about. Seriously.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

A Good Life
by Ben Bradlee

This week I re-read this excellent memoir by the legendary editor of the Washington Post. It doesn't get any better than Benji. It really doesn't.