bill moyers speech

I was listening to the radio on the way home today and caught this amazing speech by Bill Moyers at the National Conference on Media Reform (sponsored by Free Press) in St. Louis, Missouri this past Sunday 15 May and I was hooked on every word. Strangely enough, a speech addressing the weakness of "Beltway Journalism" was not carried live here in the nation's capital. No outlet in Washington carried this event, although most other major cities in the U.S. provided some form of coverage. I had to catch this on Democracy Now, which played on Pacifica Radio, WPFW 89.3 in Washington (the only station here in DC that plays the jazz I like, not that "weather channel jazz" they play on WJZW 105.9).

The text of Bill Moyers's speech is on the Free Press website. Alternatively, you can listen to audio of the remarks or watch video of the remarks. Below is a portion of the remarks that I found particularly strong:

I wore my flag tonight. First time. Until now I haven’t thought it necessary to display a little metallic icon of patriotism for everyone to see. It was enough to vote, pay my taxes, perform my civic duties, speak my mind, and do my best to raise our kids to be good Americans.

Sometimes I would offer a small prayer of gratitude that I had been born in a country whose institutions sustained me, whose armed forces protected me, and whose ideals inspired me; I offered my heart’s affections in return. It no more occurred to me to flaunt the flag on my chest than it did to pin my mother’s picture on my lapel to prove her son’s love. Mother knew where I stood; so does my country. I even tuck a valentine in my tax returns on April 15.

So what’s this doing here? Well, I put it on to take it back. The flag’s been hijacked and turned into a logo -- the trademark of a monopoly on patriotism. On those Sunday morning talk shows, official chests appear adorned with the flag as if it is the good housekeeping seal of approval. During the State of the Union, did you notice Bush and Cheney wearing the flag? How come? No administration’s patriotism is ever in doubt, only its policies. And the flag bestows no immunity from error. When I see flags sprouting on official lapels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao’s little red book on every official’s desk, omnipresent and unread.

“But more galling than anything are all those moralistic ideologues in Washington sporting the flag in their lapels while writing books and running Web sites and publishing magazines attacking dissenters as un-American. They are people whose ardor for war grows disproportionately to their distance from the fighting. They’re in the same league as those swarms of corporate lobbyists wearing flags and prowling Capitol Hill for tax breaks even as they call for more spending on war.

“So I put this on as a modest riposte to men with flags in their lapels who shoot missiles from the safety of Washington think tanks, or argue that sacrifice is good as long as they don’t have to make it, or approve of bribing governments to join the coalition of the willing (after they first stash the cash). I put it on to remind myself that not every patriot thinks we should do to the people of Baghdad what Bin Laden did to us. The flag belongs to the country, not to the government. And it reminds me that it’s not un-American to think that war -- except in self-defense -- is a failure of moral imagination, political nerve, and diplomacy. Come to think of it, standing up to your government can mean standing up for your country.”

I only wish I could write and speak this well. Finally, to set the record straight, although I firmly believe in exercising my right to vote, I am not a member of any political party. I think my friend TH put it best, "I believe in effective government."