Long ago, the powers that be in the publishing industry created the rubric for book reviews, and it has carried on with little variation. The title and author are typically mentioned at least a few times throughout, there are the obligatory excerpts either long or short, and there is the opinion of the reviewer. Over the years I have written several following this standard, but now I find myself with a book that I haven’t been able to write a review of for quite some time, simply because that formula would fail miserably at truly pointing out the value of the text. A few sentences of glowing praise would not cut it for a book that is now dog-eared, worn more than many of my books, and littered with notes in the margins.
While I am offering precisely what the industry expects here, I will also be revisiting this text when it is fitting – given the headlines I see daily, that will be fairly often. This is not such an odd arrangement – MSNBC daily refers to tidbits of political trivia from one book.
Pure Goldwater by John W. Dean and Barry M. Goldwater, Jr. is a compilation of the private journals Senator Barry Goldwater left for his children, as well as selected correspondence with others throughout his career. It can be considered a natural history of the GOP during Goldwater’s tenure in public office as well as a selected biography. Goldwater’s political history has been a well-spring for GOP members for years, however they typically call his legislative and public speaking history. While all of that is the content of his life, this book is the context – the story of the man, not the politician.
One passage I continually turn to is from September 1949:
“Now I must put down, first of all, my philosophy that politics can be clean. I want to put that down now because maybe I will have to change my mind. I think, however, that politics can be governed by the same set of laws or rules that govern our actions towards each other. I believe that things can be done outright and not on the sly cloak and dagger treatment politics have always carried. I think that people who work under [city] politicians, the clerks, the police, the engineers and all the others, they will work for men and women that they admire and trust much better than for those they fear and distrust. Well that’s down, now we will see what will happen.”
Goldwater stated those words before his name was officially on any ballot, just previous to his first leap in the world of politics. It was previous to his run with childhood friend Harry Rosenzweig for Phoenix City Council. A year later, while working as campaign manager for Howard Pyle’s gubernatorial race, Goldwater again managed to mention something well worth noting:
“It is a rich reward to me as Howard Pyle’s campaign manager and as an Arizonian, an American, and a Republican – and I’m proud of being all three. In this spontaneous action of the Republican Party of Arizona we may well be witnessing the start of a movement that will sweep America: A movement that will return morality to politics. A movement that will return honor and stature to the service of one’s state and country. The government of this nation and of this state was formed on the concept that honor was a holy thing. Our founders pledged their lives, their fortunes but most important of all they pledged their sacred honor. Today, because of the almost total ignoring of those basic concepts, we find our nation treading on the threshold of socialism. Our government’s being run by peoploe who think one way and act another. Whose fault is this? It is yours and mine – the people of this state and nation. Plato once said, ‘The penalty that people pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by people worse than themselves.’ Now hasn’t that come true?”
The irony that words spoken 60 years ago about this nation ring just as true today is testament to the problem that societies rarely learn from their own histories. Apathy remains the enemy, as does a lack of honor. Morality is bandied about as a buzz word, stripped of the meaning and weight Goldwater gave it all those years ago. Barry Goldwater, Jr. has given the public a great gift in allowing what was first set aside for his consumption to be published in the first place. It is true that his father’s memory is rarely called upon these days in the GOP – when mentioned, it is typically by the not-so-vocal moderates that probably remain a majority in the party, but have been generally silenced by the radical right-wing fringe. Yes, Goldwater has words about the hijacking of the party (or at least the splintering of it) by questionable elements within the ranks.
Pure Goldwater should be considered required reading for at the very least, any person that is or wants to be a registered Republican. It should be peddled on every page within the GOP official website, if for no other reason, because within its pages is the wisdom of a man that will perpetually be considered a leader of men within the party, and his experiences mirror the situations the party faces today. Otherwise, it provides the opportunity for Americans to learn from their history, and hopefully avoid past mistakes.
Tags: Barry Goldwater, Barry Goldwater Jr., John W. Dean, Pure Goldwater
Secured by