Jim Manis on Most Anything

Jim Manis can formulate an opinion about a good many things, including those about which he has little knowledge. (And some dude named "Lazlo.") Visit The MagicFactory.

Tuesday, February 18, 2003

The snow storm of the century struck yesterday and today. I haven't heard yet what the official count is, but we've got at least two feet of snow on the ground and probably three in places. With what the snow plows, blowers and shovelers have added to it there are some places where it must be five feet deep. I'm so tired from shoveling I can't think.

Sunday, February 16, 2003

Sunday, February 16, 2003


1. Who represents courage in America today? George W Bush, who stands firm on his desire to go to war with his father's old enemy in Iraq, while most of the world resists him?



2. The seven astronauts who were lost on re-entry recently?



3. Former Governor George Ryan who gave clemency to 171 death row inmates in Illinois, even though his party and most of the citizens of Illinois disparaged him for it?



Since the late 1960s, the concept of courage has gone out of style. It's a word that we rarely hear any more. "Commitment" seems to have taken its place. This seems to be a result, in part, of the women's movement. That is, the concept of "courage" seems to have been so long allied with "maleness" that, as the recognition of the part that woment play in our society has gained repute, the virtues of "following through" on any given activity seems to have shifted from the "rush" that males are sometimes associated with in terms of facing challenges to the "endurance" with which women face them.



I found it interesting to note that in a recent New York Times article that while the article pointed out all of the trials and tribulations that former Gov. Ryan has undergone as a result of his unprecedented and highly unpopular actions--the Times has repeatedly demonstrated through its editorials and choices of stories to publish its stand against capitol punishment--any mention of the concept of courage.



Personally I can think of little that is more corageous than a man who has reached the age of retirement, knowing that his life will now slowly slip into the void of memory, taking a stand that will generate so much animosity towards him and generate almost no rewards. self-interest is the single most important concept in the Western world, especially here in the United States. All motivation is reputedly a matter of self-interest. What's in it for Gov. Ryan? A clear concsience? Perhaps one last opportunity to be a statesman rather than a politician. When was the last time we saw an elected official do that?



One of my creative writing students had a poem workshopped in class recently about the struggles between a father and a son, the struggle of learning to become a "man" through the mentoring of a father. This is another under-discussed topic. When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I was very aware of it. Now as a father of a teenaged son I am very much aware of it again, and of the liabilities I suffer under. There is satisfaction in seeing someone's son recognize the importance of this.