Uh-oh! We Made the News Again - and Again - and Again

To be such a small state, South Carolina has certainly made its share of the news this year.  And here we go again!

Yale University (through its has just released its list of the "Top Ten Quotes of the Year."  Yep, there's a quote from a South Carolinian in those ten.  There's even a second one - and even a third one.  Three of the ten.  Can this be a good thing?

The top quote of the year was at a town meeting in Simpsonville, SC, from a constituent of SC Rep. Bob Inglis:  "Just keep your government hands off of my Medicare."  (I understand this sentiment; I want the government to keep out of a lot of what I do.)

Fourth on the Yale list was the shout heard 'round the world.  This was SC Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" during President Obama's address to Congress. 

And, finally, another one that seems to have gotten world-wide coverage.  It was from Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman about the governor's whereabouts when he couldn't be located in June:  "The governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail."

Fortunately, there's other news today about a South Carolina native.  Ben Bernanke, a Dillon native, has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year.  (Another tidbit of information: you may not be familiar with Dillon, South Carolina, but if you've ever driven on many parts of I-95, you've probably seen signs for a Dillon tourist trap attraction - South of the Border.)

Below is the 2009 roll of quotes from Yale:

1. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare."  Rep. Bob Inglis at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28.

2. "We're going to be in the Hudson."  Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.

3. "There's an app for that."  Apple's advertising slogan for the iPhone.

4. "You lie!"   Rep. Joe Wilson's shouted retort to Obama's address before a joint session of Congress September 9.

5. "The Cambridge police acted stupidly." Obama, commenting on a white police officer's arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., at a news conference July 22.

6. "I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"  Kanye West, interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 13.

7. "Um, you guys said that we, um, did this for the show."  Falcon Heene, during an interview on CNN about his parents' balloon hoax on Oct. 15.

8. "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel.'"  Sarah Palin, posting on her Facebook page on Aug. 7.

9. "The governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail."  Spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford regarding Sanford's disappearance on June 22.

10. "You give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders."    Jesse Ventura, during a CNN interview May 11.

Do you remember most or all of the above utterances?


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Just Got a Phone Call - Guess Who?

Just got a phone call from Joe Wilson. 

Yes, THAT Joe Wilson.  The congressman who yelled "You lie" - the yell heard 'round the world.

He is actually a long-time friend.  (More about our friendship of several decades HERE.)

Joe called to remind me that he had been reprimanded before, or perhaps chastised is a better word. 

It was back in 1970, back in the "ancient days" when we both were younger.  At that time here in South Carolina, our political party was small although growing fast, but small enough that we nominated by convention rather than by primary.  Also at that time, the minimum voting age was still 21.

In February of that year, I announced as a candidate for the SC House of Representatives.  I was a junior in college and only 20 years old, not yet old enough to vote, although I would turn 21 eight days before the election in November. 

Joe is the one who made the nominating speech for me at our county's political convention.  He did a great job. 

In his phone call today, Joe reminded me that he was chastised, fussed at, berated, etc. after his nominating speech.  Didn't he know I couldn't win? he was asked.  Didn't he know I wasn't old enough to vote?  And, worse yet, didn't he know I was a girl?  

Thanks to Joe and hundreds of other brave, energetic volunteers, we pulled through and won the election.

A lot has happened in the ensuing years, but some things haven't changed.  Joe is still getting fussed at, and I'm still a girl, although a much older one.

News Clipping from February 1970

O, Civility, Where Art Thou?

What has happened to us as a society? Why are we, generally speaking, no longer civil to each other?


Look at the last 10 days or so. Kanye West’s tirade in the midst of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, Joe Wilson’s outburst during the president’s speech, Serena Williams’ obvious crude language directed toward the referee, Federer’s display the following day. 

Since all or most have apologized, it seems they knew they were out of line - at least after the fact.

For decades, presidents have talked about the need for civility. So have others – poets, authors, entertainers and more. Look at the following quotes:

As citizens we have to be more thoughtful and more educated and more informed. I turn on the TV and I see these grown people screaming at each other, and I think, well, if we don't get our civility back, we're in trouble. Emmylou Harris

There can be no high civility without a deep morality. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Civility costs nothing, and buys everything. Mary Wortley Montagu
All of civility depends on being able to contain the rage of individuals. Joshua Lederberg

When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency. Samuel Johnson

Just a few years ago, the SC Supreme Court adopted an “oath of civility” that attorneys are required to take to practice law in South Carolina. How in the world did we get to such a point that the court has to require such an oath?

Is it television? Movies? Is it lifestyle? Is it the lyrics in today’s music? Is it the mudslinging in politics? Is it the 24-hour coverage of everything under the sun? Is it a feel-good society or a lack of personal responsibility in society?

Is it money or greed?  Is it the need to win - at sports, politics or whatever?

I don’t have the answers but certainly do welcome your comments, thoughts and ideas.