civilized society

[excerpt]:
----------------- Kennedy returned to his native Massachusetts one final time the following Saturday to dedicate the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College. The poet had died the previous January at age eighty-eight. At the time of his death, he and Kennedy had been estranged as a result of Frost's remarks on American weakness after visiting the Soviet Union. When Frost fell ill in December 1962, it was front-page news. Telegrams poured in from around the world, but no word came from the White House. "Frost was deeply offended that Kennedy hadn't communicated with him," said Stewart Udall, Frost's close friend. ...

Nevertheless, Kennedy remained a great admirer of Frost's work and decided to honor him. Flying to Amherst on Saturday, October 26, Kennedy worked over remarks written by Arthur Schlesinger for the Frost dedication. Udall warned Kennedy that Leslie Frost was furious about the President's snub at the end of her father's life. "Is there going to be a fuss?" Kennedy inquired. "I don't think so," Udall replied. "But if you see me wrestling on the ground with a woman you'll know she's there." Replied JFK, "Whatever you do, Stewart, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

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Kennedy's speech was one of his finest, a meditation on the role of the artist in a civilized society. He called Frost "one of the granite figures of our time in America," and observed that "because he knew the midnight as well as the high noon, because he understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit, he gave his age strength with which to overcome despair." Kennedy admired Frost for coupling "poetry and power, for he saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself....When power corrupts, poetry cleanses....I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist....I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft."

[Grace and Power, by Sally

Bedell Smith, (Chapter

Twenty-Nine). Copyright

2004. Random House.

New York]

-----------------------------

2 things: I think we got what Pres. Kennedy hoped for -- "full recognition of the place of the artist" -- in the Kennedy Center, and the events showcased there.

and

secondly, that quote about "power corrupts" --

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That quote is from Lord Acton (1834 - 1902), full name, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, an historian, politician, & writer.

I think everyone has heard that quote, and most believe it -- I always did, until experience and observation showed me something different: when I watched the political process from closer range, what I saw was

Not

people becoming "corrupted" by "Power"

but rather I witnessed the fact that there are two kinds of people who run for public office,

those who want to serve,

and those who want to be somebody.

The ones who want to serve can excel, and have fun in the process.

The ones who want to be somebody range from

a little silly, to

a little scary, to

seriously dangerous.

---------------------

The ones who people say, later, were "corrupted by power" --

came in corrupt, in my view. (Not meant as an insult to any --

just something I noticed.)

The "power corrupts" quotation sounds good,

and far be it from me to argue with a guy who has that many names.

And JFK's phrase -- "when power corrupts, poetry cleanses" ...OK. Not going to argue with him either. If poetry can "cleanse" some of these yahoos, I say, go with Pres. Kennedy's recommendation & drench 'em.

-30-