Salon.com > Kevin J. Sweeney

Not exactly fatherless

Wed, 21 Nov 2001 20:26:00 +0000

The events leading to my father's death were not shown on live television. Aside from the phone calls to family and friends, and the generous obituary written for the hometown weekly, there was no way for the larger community to know that something profoundly sad had happened. My dad died alone, of congestive heart failure, at 6 o'clock on a Thursday morning, at Stanford University Hospital. It was 1962, and I was 3 years old, the fifth of his six children.

There is little in the way of detail to connect my father to those who died on Sept. 11. While there was a frantic last phone call -- from a doctor telling my mother to come quickly -- it came minutes too late. His occupation did not match the lofty pursuits of so many who worked in the twin towers: He was a former diaper deliveryman, and his last job was as a city maintenance worker -- a street sweeper.

But like many of the men who died on Sept. 11, my father was young (38), and in the prime of his life, and he left a young wife and young children -- abruptly. These are details that bring tremendous sadness; at times I am nearly swept away by it as I read the endless stream of obituaries in the New York Times. But I recall, as I mourn these losses, that even though my childhood was marked indelibly by a sad event, it was not a sad childhood. I was a pretty happy kid. And, so far, I've been a pretty happy grown man.

A national disgrace

Thu, 29 Mar 2001 20:00:00 +0000

There are many reasons to criticize President Bush's recent move to withdraw the United States from negotiations surrounding the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The world's most powerful leader is deliberately avoiding one of the most significant issues facing the world. He is jeopardizing U.S. credibility and standing in the global community. He is threatening to keep the U.S. economy behind a trend toward energy efficiency that the rest of the developed world has clearly embraced.

But there is another reason, one that is of concern to every American, regardless of political affiliation.

George W. Bush's statements on climate change are fundamentally unpatriotic.

In a letter to four U.S. senators, Bush said he won't support the Kyoto Protocol because it does not yet command participation from developing nations, including China and India. He says their absence makes the approach "unfair." He is saying, quite concretely, that the U.S. won't participate unless everyone else does. He is saying, quite directly, that we, the United States, would prefer not to lead on this issue.

It's a position -- an excuse, really -- that would be plausible coming from Lesotho, Paraguay or the Czech Republic. But not from the United States.

May the better statesman win

Fri, 10 Nov 2000 00:30:00 +0000

When you're running for president, it sure is nice to win. But when you're trying to make history -- when you're trying to actually do something that lives up to the promise embodied in the office -- it sure is nice to have the full faith and support of the American people.

As it looks now, one guy will win. And that one guy, whoever it is, will have neither the faith nor the confidence of the American people. Either George W. Bush or Al Gore will serve out a four-year term without the honeymoon that has been granted virtually every president to precede him. The four years that follow will be a time of sniping, of conspiracy theories, and the deafening cacophony will make it impossible for the new president to build support for his ideas. It's hard to imagine a State of the Union Address that can heal the wounds that are now being opened in South Florida.

There is, however, one step Gore or Bush could -- and should -- take. The minute one of them surges ahead in the vote tally he should call for a revote in Florida.

That's right, the winner in Florida should call for a revote. And if Gore does it after pulling ahead -- should that happen now or after yet another recount -- or if Bush does it now, the candidate who made that choice will win the revote. In a landslide.