HELP! I Am Starting to Long for Yesteryear
I know that Kentucky politics were always dirty. I come from a county where the local high school gym was named for the sitting superintendent of schools. A good portion of the school system's staff was related to him in one way or another, and nobody gave any of this a second thought. It was politics, Kentucky style.
In many Kentucky counties, it is hard to have a staff that is not comprised of relatives. Families settled, raised their children, and those children stayed in the county. In a few generations, everyone was related to everyone else. For the most part, problems over nepotism came up when one relative wanted a job held by another (often less distant) relative. It was a family feud that spilled over into the courts. "Cousin Whoever" in Frankfort was forced to take time out from lining his own pockets and smack a few hands back home.
If you think I am condoning nepotism, I'm not. It was pervasively evil. The corruption was often rooted so deeply in the poverty of our state, that anyone holding high office had the sort of power wielded by feudal lords over their vassals. But as corrupt as the system was, it was no worse than the one we Kentuckians have replaced it with. The politics of money dominates our government.
In a kinship system, there is at least some protection for the poor relatives. Families are important to us. Corporate control of our government cares only for hoarding more wealth in the hands of those who already have more than they need. I am reminded of this as I watch the news of yet other resignations in Frankfort over hiring practices of the Fletcher Administration. As I watch, I can't help becoming a bit nostalgic over the corruption of yesteryear.
Do you ever start to wonder if voting for your cousin's half-brother by his father's third wife to keep your brother working his state or county job was really so bad? Sure he was a crook; everybody knew that. No honest person would run for office in Kentucky. Perhaps that's still the case.
I would rather return to the past, than face the bleak future of men like the ones in power now. There is a chance for a better Kentucky. It is a very slim chance, if we can find a few honest people to run. Otherwise, we are once again going to be standing in the voting booth, asking ourselves which crook is worse and hoping we don't get another one quite as bad as the last.
In many Kentucky counties, it is hard to have a staff that is not comprised of relatives. Families settled, raised their children, and those children stayed in the county. In a few generations, everyone was related to everyone else. For the most part, problems over nepotism came up when one relative wanted a job held by another (often less distant) relative. It was a family feud that spilled over into the courts. "Cousin Whoever" in Frankfort was forced to take time out from lining his own pockets and smack a few hands back home.
If you think I am condoning nepotism, I'm not. It was pervasively evil. The corruption was often rooted so deeply in the poverty of our state, that anyone holding high office had the sort of power wielded by feudal lords over their vassals. But as corrupt as the system was, it was no worse than the one we Kentuckians have replaced it with. The politics of money dominates our government.
In a kinship system, there is at least some protection for the poor relatives. Families are important to us. Corporate control of our government cares only for hoarding more wealth in the hands of those who already have more than they need. I am reminded of this as I watch the news of yet other resignations in Frankfort over hiring practices of the Fletcher Administration. As I watch, I can't help becoming a bit nostalgic over the corruption of yesteryear.
Do you ever start to wonder if voting for your cousin's half-brother by his father's third wife to keep your brother working his state or county job was really so bad? Sure he was a crook; everybody knew that. No honest person would run for office in Kentucky. Perhaps that's still the case.
I would rather return to the past, than face the bleak future of men like the ones in power now. There is a chance for a better Kentucky. It is a very slim chance, if we can find a few honest people to run. Otherwise, we are once again going to be standing in the voting booth, asking ourselves which crook is worse and hoping we don't get another one quite as bad as the last.
posted by Gwen Mayo | 12:37 PM
2 Comments:
At least most KY politicians know better than to put the dumb relatives and cronies in charge of important things. Too bad Dubya didn't learn that lesson!
Jeb hasn't learned it either here in Florida. And the lineup for the Republicans for the 2006 election is shaping up to be a doozy. We Democrats are hunkered down to fight off a couple of sleazes running for the nomination and then elect Jim Davis governor. He's really quite a talented and experiences character. If he gets it, the Dems and the GOP are going to have problems as he's actually relatively honest.
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