Department of Not Sure What to Say
I feel compelled to mention this story (courtesy of Talking Points Memo) about Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame and his seemingly inexplicable relationship with the disgraced (and disgraceful) former Ace Fighter/Congressman/thief Duke Cunningham.
I'm just not sure what to say about it. (Enjoy that while you can - it won't last) Part of me wants to scoff at this nonsense. Duke Cunningham behaved worse than any standard brand criminal and fed his greed based lifestyle by abusing the public trust and the public piggy bank. If you've read about his exploits (and TPM is a great place to get a sampling of the depths of depravity), you know he's beyond despicable.
But why would Peter Yarrow come to his defense? If you read the story, there clearly was some humanity underneath the arrogant fighter jock who demanded yachts and Rolls Royces and multi-million dollar real estate deals in return for giving our money to bogus defense contractors. It's hard to reconcile the two, but it makes for an interesting lesson.
Duke was likely a superstar from way back. Ace fighter pilot. Congressman. Celebrity. Hero. And, likely, not a bad guy in the annoying jock sort of mold. Getting Yarrow in front of the Republican Caucus is not a move for the faint of heart or for those lacking a soul. But, somewhere along the line, he started buying his press and wondering why he wasn't living the life he deserved.
And that probably makes him just like a lot of us, except we're never presented with the opportunity to steal on that sort of scale. He came to that fork and determined that he deserved that house, that yacht, that car. He justified it to himself as his reward for a life of service. And he took it.
Lots of people face that crossroads on all scales everyday. Most people - at least I'd like to think - choose the right way. But how many of us have thought...maybe, just a little...
I'm just not sure what to say about it. (Enjoy that while you can - it won't last) Part of me wants to scoff at this nonsense. Duke Cunningham behaved worse than any standard brand criminal and fed his greed based lifestyle by abusing the public trust and the public piggy bank. If you've read about his exploits (and TPM is a great place to get a sampling of the depths of depravity), you know he's beyond despicable.
But why would Peter Yarrow come to his defense? If you read the story, there clearly was some humanity underneath the arrogant fighter jock who demanded yachts and Rolls Royces and multi-million dollar real estate deals in return for giving our money to bogus defense contractors. It's hard to reconcile the two, but it makes for an interesting lesson.
Duke was likely a superstar from way back. Ace fighter pilot. Congressman. Celebrity. Hero. And, likely, not a bad guy in the annoying jock sort of mold. Getting Yarrow in front of the Republican Caucus is not a move for the faint of heart or for those lacking a soul. But, somewhere along the line, he started buying his press and wondering why he wasn't living the life he deserved.
And that probably makes him just like a lot of us, except we're never presented with the opportunity to steal on that sort of scale. He came to that fork and determined that he deserved that house, that yacht, that car. He justified it to himself as his reward for a life of service. And he took it.
Lots of people face that crossroads on all scales everyday. Most people - at least I'd like to think - choose the right way. But how many of us have thought...maybe, just a little...
posted by John at 8:52 PM
2 Comments:
Howdy
I've met Peter at Kerrville Folk Fest. He is one of the most loving people yer gonna meet. Also very loyal. Just a guess would be that Duke came out for something impotant to Peter. He is good at making it obviouse just what the problem is and moving the concervative knots that might be sitting on that log. Whatever it was does not excuse Duke's mis-deeds. We in the southwest also remember that corrupt Bush Republican banker and developer Mike Keeting was a big supporter of kids swimming. He actually used money from a fraud to help finance a school pool.
That, and we musicians are always loyal to patrons.
Tom the Folksinger
www.locist.com/Tomthefolksinger
Hey Tom the Folksinger -
I grew up listening to PPM (and my kids listen now) and Pete Seeger and...well, you know the routine. It just struck me that all my venom directed at Duke was directed at a human with many sides to his character. He wouldn't be my favorite person even without the criminality - I've never been a fan of the fighter jock/super stud sort - but for Peter to strike up that relationship is an indicator that I ought to hold at least some of my judgement.
Thanks for reading and writing.
Post a Comment
<< Home