This New England

Claiborne Pell, with his aristocratic eccentricities, his passion for the arts and scholarship and his internationalism, always seemed to me someone who could have served comfortably in the British House of Lords.

Consider his bizarre interests, such as in the paranormal and the spoon-bending Uri Geller.

Though much beloved in Rhode Island, for his Rooseveltian liberalism and his utter comfort with his own quirks and interests, he had more impact on national affairs than on the Ocean State, never having served in elective state or local office and being connected with the state originally through the summer colony of the rich social elite in Newport.

(His father was a congressman from Manhattan's richest neighborhood, the Upper East Side, and a diplomat.)

Senator Pell was a charming man, with formidable persistance in supporting his great causes, such as the United Nations. He used to pull out a small tattered copy of the U.N. charter from his pocket when discussing the organization's role with a boyish enthusiasm that I found a bit ingenuous in the light of the evils that dictators could perpetrate with enthusiasm and no sense of guilt.

But then, he had participated in the 1945 conference at San Francisco that founded the world body.

He was famous for the Pell Grants for college students, a very good idea in itself but one that was to no small extent offset by the fact that colleges hiked their tuitions in response, offsetting much of the help.

Senator Pell did some very fine things for American culture, especially in higher education and the arts, and his passing marks the sad exit of one of the last luminaries of the old, public-spirited Eastern Establishment of what Henry Luce called "The American Century'' -- the 20th Century. We will miss this courtly man.

That includes his bizarre interests, such as in the paranormal and Uri Geller.

He was a statesman. And yet he also sometimes seemed a character out of P.G. Wodehouse.

XXX

Why do right-wing radio talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh do so well and liberal ones not so well? Consider that Colin McEnroe, a rude liberal, has just been fired by WTIC in Hartford and that national liberal talk-show hosts have had a tough time hanging on to their jobs.

And why do letters to the editor even in liberal states like Rhode Island and Connecticut feature so many right-wingers complaining about high taxes, overspending and allegedly corrupt legislators and so on even as the general electorate elects liberal Democrats by wide margins?

Simple. It's because the conservatives tend to be angrier than liberals and anger is a powerful energizer and seller. Radio stations, all too many of which are owned by a few few national companies, know that they need intensity of listenership above all to sell advertising time. Hiring a right-wing host is a good strategy for selling advertising time.

It's similar to why newspapers devote so much space to sports: Followers of teams are committed readers.

That is not to say that many liberals aren't infuriated, too. Consider the sometimes almost psychotic hatred of G.W. Bush. But, all in all, right wingers tend to be angrier, longer.

Of course, expressing anger and suspicion is also a lot easier than coming up with suggestions on how to do things better.

We all much enjoy denouncing people in power --it takes no work and is a pleasant distraction from our own little problems, some or even most of which we blame, fairly or not, on the people in power. We get it off our desk and on to somone else's,

Thus folks complain when their favorite government program is being slashed because of budgetary constraints, or that certain taxes are being raised, but they rarely suggest what other programs should be cut, or which other taxes raised, to make things right. That would involve some tedious thinking and most public discourse does not involve thinking but simply speaking or typing.

As Mencken liked to remind us: "People enjoy reading abuse.''

 Tags  Claiborne Pell Colin McEnroe right-wing talk show WTIC

Comments

Terrence McCarthy said:

McEnroe's final show yesterday was devoid of anger. It was like an Irish wake at which the guest of honor is still alive, but not kicking ( others ). A classy way to exit the stage. McEnroe will be missed, but will, I hope, surface elsewhere. If Buddy Cianci can make a comeback on talk radio, surely Colin.

Link | January 1, 2009 3:55 PM
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Saul Ricklin said:

If an editor thinks a letter is simply typed without tedious thinking should it be published or is it wrong for an editor to stifle opinions even if not thoughtful or inane?

Link | January 4, 2009 7:16 PM
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Saul Ricklin said:

If an editor thinks a letter is simply typed without tedious thinking should it be published or is it wrong for an editor to stifle opinions even if not thoughtful or inane?

Link | January 4, 2009 7:18 PM
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