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Humility a necessity to serve the people

By Richard Robbins 5 min read

Jesus was not a humble guy.

Not he who said, “I am the way, the truth and the light.” Not the guy who proclaimed that the only way to get past the pearly gates was through him.

Certainly not the fella who turned water into wine to the delight of thousands of thirsty spectators.

And yet … humility was one of his calling cards. He was born in a stable. He rode a donkey. He washed his disciples’ feet.

I mention this because of something way more secular – something John McCain told the Senate last week, in regard to the failure in Washington to thread the needle of rank partisanship to reach bipartisan solutions to any of our many vexing problems, including health insurance; and because of the current president of the United States, who demonstrates on an almost hourly basis that he is nothing if not unabashedly self-regarding.

This is what McCain, just back from brain cancer surgery, said to his fellow lawmakers that struck me so forcefully: “I hope we can again rely on humility, on our own need to cooperate, on our dependence on each other.”

Politicians are not often thought of as humble. To sight just one example, Lyndon Johnson. LBJ’s un-humility is perhaps best captured in an anecdote tinged with humor: Leaving the White House one afternoon, Johnson started to board one of two Marine helicopters parked on the lawn just outside the Oval Office.

Seeing that Johnson was about to get on the chopper meant for members of the White House staff, a young Marine lieutenant snapped to attention before telling the commander-in-chief, “Sir, this is not your helicopter.”

Immediately, President Johnson turned and said in his best Texas drawl, “Son, they’re all my helicopters.”

And yet Johnson mastered the art of legislating because, in part, he humbled himself, recognizing that success and the dictates of his job and the constraints of the Constitution required him to work with others, to persuade and cajole even members of the opposition.

Johnson, both as Democratic leader of the Senate in the 50s and later as president, lived on the phone. He was as likely to call Republican Everett Dirksen as he was Democrat “Scoop” Jackson. He was always on the prowl for votes across the aisle.

LBJ no doubt felt humiliated at times. He kissed too many butts during his life in politics to feel otherwise. In retirement, he vented that he was finished with all that.

One of the enduring tensions in democratic politics is that between and among ambitious, often fractious and self-aggrandizing politicians and the compromises that a democracy must have if anything at all is to get done, and get done on a more or less permanent basis.

What is true of politicians as individuals is also true of the two major political parties.

One party rule, especially when the parties are equally popular (or unpopular), just doesn’t cut it.

It’s nice to say you squashed the opposition. It’s better to say you enacted legislation that will be around beyond the next several sessions of Congress.

Which brings me to the health insurance debate, and the opportunity for lasting reform now that the GOP’s repeal and replace mania has hit a stone wall. After casting the deciding vote early Friday morning against the so-called “skinny” ACA repeal bill, Sen. McCain remarked “We must now return to the correct way of legislating.”

That means holding hearings and gathering, rather than resisting, recommendations from both sides of the political divide. Impossible? Maybe. But it should be given a try.

As McCain said, “We must do the hard work our citizens expect of us and deserve.”

As for President Trump, it’s long past the time he demonstrate some humility. Perhaps it’s beyond him. Sadly, I suspect it is.

What a contrast between the 16th president of the United States and the 45th.

President Lincoln “possessed an uncanny ability to empathize with and think about other people’s point of view.” Lincoln biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin has written.

“He repaired injured feelings that might have escalated into permanent hostility. He shared credit with ease. He assumed responsibility for the failure of his subordinates.

“He constantly acknowledged his errors and learned from his mistakes. He refused to be provoked by petty grievances. He never submitted to jealousy or brooded over perceived slights.”

Humility suited a strong, successful president like Lincoln. It’s as yet unclear where President Trump’s arrogance will lead him. My fear is that it will lead to grief, both for himself and for the country.

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Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown and is the author of two books – Grand Salute: Stories of the World War II Generation and Our People. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.

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