Fifty years after Nixon's resignation, the constitutional webbing that made the decision palatable to, and even popular with, the American people is coming apart at the seams.
As a young adult witnessing the slaughter in southeast Asia, the impunity of those in power, and the delays in accountability for Nixon's felonies, I could not look at my nation's flag without sadness and some measure of disgust. That is until I heard Barbara Jordan's inspiration and hope for national redemption.
Nixon's post-resignation statements showed that he did not leave because of shame (an attribute he lacked), but because he no longer had the loyalty needed to continue.
Many years ago when returning to AUS, Barbara's statue, newly enthroned, greeted me in the baggage area of the airport. Seeing her there really pissed me off. Had that sense of "Well, we don't got nowhere else to put her so let's stick here down with the bags." After some considered reflection, I've come to believe that the AUS baggage area is exactly where Barbara would want to be. That's where We The People congregate. It's messy, chaotic, oft exhausting, and illustratively democratic. Ain't no private air where you never touch your bags; hell, at AUS, on occasion you don't even get your bags. No, Barbara is with us, and we with her, inspiring the returning exodus to search for our belonging.
Agreed. I think it also sends a nice message to people visiting Austin, especially for the first time, to see Barbara Jordan greeting them upon their arrival. And a bad-ass statue, at that.
As a young adult witnessing the slaughter in southeast Asia, the impunity of those in power, and the delays in accountability for Nixon's felonies, I could not look at my nation's flag without sadness and some measure of disgust. That is until I heard Barbara Jordan's inspiration and hope for national redemption.
Nixon's post-resignation statements showed that he did not leave because of shame (an attribute he lacked), but because he no longer had the loyalty needed to continue.
Many years ago when returning to AUS, Barbara's statue, newly enthroned, greeted me in the baggage area of the airport. Seeing her there really pissed me off. Had that sense of "Well, we don't got nowhere else to put her so let's stick here down with the bags." After some considered reflection, I've come to believe that the AUS baggage area is exactly where Barbara would want to be. That's where We The People congregate. It's messy, chaotic, oft exhausting, and illustratively democratic. Ain't no private air where you never touch your bags; hell, at AUS, on occasion you don't even get your bags. No, Barbara is with us, and we with her, inspiring the returning exodus to search for our belonging.
Agreed. I think it also sends a nice message to people visiting Austin, especially for the first time, to see Barbara Jordan greeting them upon their arrival. And a bad-ass statue, at that.