By Dan Murphy
In this day and age of hyper-partisan politics, the silence of our elected officials on both sides of the political aisle is deafening when it comes to calling out members of their own party when they commit wrongs against the people they took an oath to serve.
Both parties are guilty of this offense to common sense and logic. If the voters can see the wrongdoing, then the politicians they elected should speak up, and speak out loudly and quickly against that colleague that soon will have to resign or go to jail.
Two recent examples of this come from events in our county and state. In Peekskill, Councilmember Vanessa Agudelo’s refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance has sparked a debate over whether her actions should be embraced as an example of our Constitution at work in protecting the rights of Americans’ freedom of expression (or freedom not to say the pledge).
Others believe that Agudelo’s actions are disrespectful to those who elected her to represent all the voters and resident in Peekskill, and those Americans who have served our country.
Agudelo’s attempt at an explanation – “because of our country’s failure to truly uphold the values this country stands for” – and because reciting the pledge provides a “level of unquestionable loyalty and mindless conformity,” did very little to help some understand.
This newspaper agrees with Agudelo’s comments that recently our country has “fought in wars that most Americans don’t agree with,” but the way to further the debate and speak out against those wars is not to deceive the voters, win election, and then refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If Agudelo was more honest and upfront about her convictions before the election, she would not be a member of the Peekskill Council, in our view.
Very few elected officials wish to delve into this issue, including the members of the Peekskill council who were elected with Agudelo last November. Only former Peekskill Mayor Frank Catalina has been outspoken in his opposition. We believe that those who support Agudelo’s right not to recite the pledge and those who reject her arguments to do so should speak out and be heard by the voters who elect them in Westchester.
The recent downfall of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is another example of far too much silence from politicians who usually have much to say. While we applaud Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who both came out early and called for Schneiderman to resign before he did, we have heard little or nothing from Schneiderman’s fellow Democrats here in Westchester.
Our newspapers email box is usually filled with comments from local, county and state elected officials who wish to opine on matters not under their purview. Would it be so bad, or a betrayal to their party, to simply state that the actions of Schneiderman are reprehensible, and he should be subject to criminal charges if the evidence points to that?
The same offense occurs, in our view, when a member of the opposite party does something good for our county, state or country, and nothing is said from the other side of the aisle. The recent release of three Americans by North Korea is an example of a positive event.
The Daily News – a frequent critic of Trump – wrote, “Kudos to President Trump and his administration for the breakthrough: Three Americans are free from the prison that is North Korea, a meaningful achievement on its own terms that just might suggest better things to come from Kim Jong Un. The just-freed men – Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song – were captured in October 2015, April 2017 and May 2017, respectively. The first is a businessman accused of espionage; the second, a university professor; the third, an agricultural expert. It was the American government’s responsibility to try to get them back. The president and his team succeeded.”
Most Democrats refused to give the president or his administration credit, or thanks, for the return of these men. Is it so hard to say “nice job,” or “we are thankful for their return?” This lack of civility, and ability to admit that good things or actions, or bad things and actions have occurred in our country that should only be viewed from a partisan eye show how convoluted our political system has become. There is a need for a viewpoint down the middle of our bunker mentality, now worse than ever, shown by the Democratic and Republican parties.
