Frankly, Sarah...I Don't Give a Damn
A letter from former, twice governor Wally Hickel ran in Sunday's Anchorage Daily News. I think it's well worth a read. Hickel is the only other governor to quit (1966-1969). His resignation was to serve as the Secretary of the Interior under President Nixon. He ran again and won the governorship under the Alaska Independent Party from 1990--1994.
Wally Hickel is now 90 years old. A one time supporter of Sarah Palin, Hickel recently stated in Clark Gable style , "I don't give a damn what she does."
Alaskans can rise above petty politics, hateful acts
BY WALLY HICKEL
09/26/09
Both of my grandfathers left Southern Germany for America in the 1880s to escape what George Washington called in his Farewell Address "the toils of European ambition, rivalship and caprice."
German was the first language I heard at home. This changed when my older sister Gertrude returned from her first day at school, where her classmates made fun of her broken English. From then on, I rarely heard a German word spoken at home.
My family and their relatives lived through the Dust Bowl in Kansas, the Great Depression, and two world wars when their new homeland fought against the land of their ancestors.
Some Americans today are uncomfortable with the changing face of America. Anger and frustration are invading our national discourse. I urge us all to study our roots.
America's greatness is not in spite of our immigrants. It's because of our immigrants.
We are a mongrel nation. We are not a thoroughbred. We're not German or Irish, Hispanic or Asian, black or white, Christian or Jew. We are all those things and many more, and we don't all get tired at once. That's why America has always out-worked our competition.
During the presidential primaries last year, I liked what I saw in Barack Obama. I didn't see him as black. I saw him as a young American with a deep understanding of what America was meant to be and how we could regain our moral standing in the world.
When Gov. Sarah Palin surprised us by joining Sen. John McCain on the Republican ticket, I agreed to support her, sticking to my commitment to put "Alaska first." When she took the podium at the Republican National Convention, however, I was greatly disappointed. The race-against-race and class-against-class message of the McCain/Palin campaign was transparent.
I urged Sarah to take control of her message and appealed to her in this column "to rise above the worn-out, negative tactics of presidential politics and assume the role of stateswoman." (Op Ed of September 14, 2008).
My hopes were dashed. Palin became the spokesperson for the divisive voices in American politics. She dismissed the greatness of our immigrant heritage, indeed of today's Alaska, where in Anchorage alone nearly 100 languages are spoken in the homes of the children in our public schools.
She missed a golden opportunity to challenge the rest of the country to adopt the welcoming spirit of the Alaska frontier and the message of mutual respect championed by Bridge Builders of Anchorage and the School District that helped us win All-America City honors in 2002.
I believe that Alaska can be a model for America. We have much to offer, but we will fail if we don't deal with prejudice, not only against newly arrived immigrants but against anyone.
My wife Ermalee, a lifelong Alaskan, and I were outraged several years ago when high school students videotaped Alaska Natives as they shot them with paintball guns, and again this summer when Anchorage teenagers attacked a man apparently for no reason other than he was Eskimo.
These hateful acts must be strongly dealt with and condemned. They are especially offensive in light of the remarkable leadership today's Alaska Native community provides in business, politics and honoring cultural values.
When we represent Alaska to the rest of the country, let's go beyond our stereotypes. Let's explain that Alaska is a place of environmental excellence and spiritual renewal, a vast source of energy and resources, and a model for how commonly owned lands can benefit the people who live on them.
Let's also make Alaska known for respect for all people and reject those who would use racial and class division for personal or political reasons. Because those who do so are playing with forces in the souls of men that could sink our country into that pit of conflict and violence George Washington warned us about more than 200 years ago.
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Shannyn,
As always a great article. Wally Hickel is a remarkable man, no doubt. If we had 349,000,000 more like him, this would truly be a great country and we would not be facing the negativity of people like Palin, Limbaugh, Beck and the ridiculous and destructive behaviors and obstructions of the republican party.
The world loves to see a loser push themselves to be great. Sarah Palin could easily have picked herself up and dusted herself off to become a positive force with which to be reckoned after the election upset in 2008. She really had nothing to lose. It's rare to find personality, charisma, "smarts" and physical beauty in politicians. Eleanor Roosevelt, with her looks, was perhaps the greatest first lady in our history. Palin should have finished her term as governor (doing the very best job she could), then find ways to attract not only her base, but a large majority of the republican party and some democrats and independents to rally around her for a future in politics.
But the reality is she never did any of those things. In fact she quit the governorship halfway through her term committing political suicide. Instead of alienating and fighting with the media every moment of her life, she could have quietly educated herself on foreign policy and other topics. The reality is Sarah Palin has no intellect or intelligence whatsoever!
Former Governor Hickel represents what politics in the US used to be. I hope that there are those reading who realize that his disappointment in Palin is not a refutation of the conservatism nor of the GOP as it has been, but for what it had become. There was a time, before the modern media hijacked the press and suplanted the bipartisan and inclusive natures that used to be common in both political parties. The pundits and the news programs, distinct from the press and journalism, have made a travesty of the process by framing it as a contest of "us versus them", the right versus the left, and winners versus loosers, knowing full well that this results in increased ad revenue rather than greater understanding, as if it were a highly contested professional sports rivaly, or worse; war between the ideologies, instead of what it could be; an honest expression of different views in hopes that compromise isn't a luke warm and tasteless mess but an innovative mix with hybrid vitality that's helped us to overcome great challenges and set and example of what the political process could be. It would be nice it could be that again...turn off TV and radio's ...read some history books and get to know how great leaders evolve and so will we all.
Now there's a grand and gracious man.
What happened Alaska? Couldn't you find anyone better than CaribouBarbie?
Governor Wally Hickle represents the very best Alaska and our country has to offer the world. In comparison Sarah Palin represents the very worst.
Now... you see... i was gonna say she was telling her girlfriends about the size of the fish that got away, but you had to go there!
What planet did this woman come from?
What a great letter...too bad it's just directed at Sarah Palin.
what a dis appointment Pa li n must have been to this Wise man and to the Alaskans.
what a disappointment Pa li n must have been to this Wise man and to the Alaskans.
Well stated. It's amazing that it takes a 90-year old man to offer a "refreshing comment."
He seems to be firing on all pistons. Maybe he can work to get those live- turkey-chopping-machines
banned.
Wally Hickel is a patriot and a gentleman. His wisdom and honor bring tears to my eyes. His letter should be read in schools across the nation, as an anecdote to ignorance, prejudice and hate. Self-serving politicians and self-righteous Bible-thumpers are enough to make our Founding Fathers roll over in their graves, and Christ roll up his sleeves again to make angry in the temple. We're supposed to evolve, not regress. Thanks for sharing, Shannyn.
WOW! That last paragraph is amazing. Thanks, Governor Hickel.
And as always: Namaste, Shannyn.
there is no place in todays g.o.p. for gov hickel, barry goldwater and president IKE would not be welcome either. the g.o.p.was once a respectable party. their face now is palin, glen beck, sean hannity, joe the plumber, limbaugh, savage, laura ingrahm, ann coulter, the list of hate mongers is endless. when they wake up in the morning, they actually don't know who to hate first even wm buckleys son was kicked off his founding fathers national review. if their party becomes any more exclusive, they will be able to hold there next convention in a pup tent.
This letter contains a very true and important message. I wish that Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs and the like could read it and take it to heart.
Thank you Mr.Hickel! I wish Sarah palin would read this! I don't know what her goals are, but she is going about the wrong way! She must realize that one day her kids and grandkids will know what she was actually about and it is not something she will be proud of.
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