“‘What’s the matter?’ I asked.
Atticus said nothing. I looked up at Mr. Cunningham, whose face was equally impassive. Then he did a peculiar thing. He squatted down and took me by both shoulders.
‘I’ll tell him you said hey, little lady,’ he said.
Then he straightened up and waved a big paw. ‘Let’s clear out,’ he called. ‘Let’s get going, boys.'”
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
I have just seen a piece in the legal press regarding Craig MacGlashan, a California lawyer who is Chairman of the Sacramento County Republican Party, who posted material on a website about Barack Obama which, among other things, suggests that Mr. Obabma be waterboarded and compares him to Osama bin Laden. This is well and truly beyond anyone’s pale. I strongly suspect that John McCain, if he ever learns of this, will immediately repudiate it. Not only has he begun to speak out against such excessive attacks on Mr. Obama, but he has consistently fought against torture as an American investigative tool – hardly surprising given his own experience. Even though I feel he has gone not nearly far enough in doing so, I give him credit for beginning to reassert his values in recent days.
This campaign has had far too much of this sort of horse manure. Once expects incivility in a political campaign since contenders hardly seem able to avoid it in the heat of battle, but suggestions of torture, killing and slurs (many racially motivated) are simply a new low in American politics. The Republican party ought to be ashamed of itself for promoting an environment where such garbage can flourish, and needs to examine its teachings and culture carefully to see what it is doing to foster evil in this form. Partisan politics is one thing; filth, muck and outright urging of domestic terrorism are something entirely different. While I reluctantly acknowledge that the former has its place, the latter should never be allowed to see the light of day. It will be informative to see what, if anything, the Republican party brass does to Mr. MacGlashan and how fast it does it. If the top party brass fails to remove him from his position with dispatch and promptly censure him in the process, the party will simply ratify his un-American message and become deserving of outright censure in its own right.
This is the action of a desperate party falling precipitously from power, after living large and excessively for far too long. Further, if Mr. Obama were white (see previous post), I seriously doubt that messages of the type attributed to Mr. MacGlashan would (a) see the light of day, or (b) be tolerated for longer than thirty seconds by the powers that be within the Republican party. This means that the speed with which the Republican party reacts to Mr. MacGlashan’s remarks will also say much about its tolerance for racism within its own ranks.
The stop watch is on and ticking.
The stop watch is also on and ticking with respect to the California Bar Association’s reaction to this filth. Given the speed at which ethics complaints are processed in any jurisdiction, the Bar Association deserves more time in which to react, especially given the need for due process in what is essentially a judicial proceeding. I hope and trust, however, that one or more of my California colleagues will see fit immediately to file a complaint under applicable ethics codes to begin the process. While I decry the actions of the Republican party in creating an environment in which Mr MacGlashan can unashamedly state “Some people find it offensive, others do not. I cannot comment on how people interpret things,” I have to acknowledge the failure of the American bar, as a whole, assertively to insist upon civility in the practice of law. Shame on my own house for this failure. Lawyers should be leaders, not followers.
While it is true that judges and those at the top of the American Bar Association and the various state bars have wholeheartedly rejected the growing lack of civility in the practice of law, I also have to acknowledge that many individual practitioners simply see incivility as either their right or as an acceptable tactic in the practice of law. While one not only has to wonder about the sense of honor possessed by any lawyer who believes this way, one must also question whether they have any brains at all if they somehow see such tactics as effective. While various courts and bar associations have begun to create codes of civility to which they urge adherence by lawyers, it is well beyond time for these same courts and bar associations to begin to actively sanction obviously uncivil behavior.
I take the notion of being a counselor at law very seriously. While I aspire to the status of an Atticus Finch, I know I fall short – but I keep trying. I well know that I have to behave in a civil manner not only while engaged in the practice of law, but in the conduct of my personal affairs as a citizen of this great country. I can only wonder whether Mr. MacGlashan understands that to do otherwise is to bring discredit upon our shared profession and to bring shame upon his own house. I suggest that he look in his mirror and tell the rest of us what he sees staring back.
The exchange in the above quotation from To Kill a Mockingbird occurs on the front porch of the court house, under the incongruous floor lamp, while Scout wonders why Mr. Cunningham and his “friends” are challenging Atticus, who has come to defend Tom Robbins from lynching. She understands nothing of the situation other than the one, singularly essential element common to everyone there – the need for man’s humanity and civility to his fellow man. Her simple assertion of this creed by questioning the strange expressions she sees on the faces of those around her defuses an otherwise ugly situation.
Can we not all learn from Scout? I hope I have and will continue to do so. I wish Mr. MacGlashan would. I would be happy to send him a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, gratis, if he will only furnish me with his address.
