“This is the West, Sir! When the Legend Becomes Fact, Print the Legend.”
This famous quote comes from the classic western film ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’. It was a statement made by the editor of the local newspaper in reference to a story he’d just heard whose heroic legend was quite different from the complicated facts of the truth. Anyone who has seen the film knows the story.
Watching the pomp and circumstance surrounding the daily business-as-usual schedule of President Trump meeting foreign dignitaries, hosting state dinners at the White House, parties at Mar-a-Lago, summit meetings with the leaders of nations, flying in Air Force One with exotic Melania in tow, it appears that the dark cloud of the monotonous, now almost redundant, collusion, sex scandal and financial shenanigan investigation is caught in the balance, and seemingly losing steam.
The Mueller investigation could turn into the same quagmire of assumptive truths and allegations as the Warren Commission Report regarding the assassination of JFK. The report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the shooting of President Kennedy and Jack Ruby acted alone in the subsequent shooting of Oswald. The Commission’s official findings are famously controversial regarding the theory of a complex conspiracy.
Chief Justice Earl Warren, a highly respected prosecutor, was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s successor, to look into the assassination controversy. Warren’s team was also highly respected for their abilities and tenacity. Conversely, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate the Trump allegations. Mueller and his team share the same widespread respect and credibility.
Warren was reported as becoming frustrated with the complications of the truth and background of the assassination and where the investigation was heading. Issues and controversy arose over Mob implications, Cuba involvement, Russian involvement, all legitimate factors, as the actuality of a possible conspiracy became evident.
One of the chief reservations was that the findings of the commission could ultimately create more controversy than consensus. Some felt that it could actually lead to World War III.
Today, the Warren Report stands as the official explanation as the result of the commission investigation, but unofficially, most people believe there was a conspiracy, and there is much evidence that leads to that conclusion. Just as there is much valid evidence in the Mueller investigation into Trump’s Russian collusion, financial fraud and obstruction of justice allegations. Trump’s sex life, his quirky personality and behavior, his tweeting, etc. are not crimes, but they add to the overall negative imagery.
The parallels in both these investigations are striking. Both highly respected and able men were chosen to investigate critical and controversial issues relating to the President of the United States. The negative implications and affect on the American conscience, the general wellbeing of American self-esteem, and the threat to national security in both scenarios may be potentially greater and more exacting than whatever truth is revealed.
In our free and First Amendment America we demand transparency, forgetting that discretion is the better part of valor. We forget that “loose lips sink ships”. We don’t play our cards close to the vest, we show our cards to everyone. Not always a wise practice, displaying vulnerability and weakness.
In Kennedy’s time we didn’t have PCs, iPhones and Internet. No social media, and a forgiving national media. Kennedy was a beloved president. Today, Trump, not so beloved, is under a worldwide microscope. The ratings driven buffoonery of the national media is unforgiving, social media is invasive, and his creepy personality isn’t helping his legacy.
To protect America from getting caught off guard with its pants down, do we let sleeping dogs lie and suffer through this presidency hoping for the best? How do we convince other world powers that we’re to be taken seriously? When legend becomes fact do we print the legend?
There’s another phrase used frequently ...“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” History is subjective to its writer’s definition of the truth.
So, officially, there was no “grassy knoll’. Oswald acted alone and shot Kennedy. It was just that simple. End of story. Legend printed. The truth may never be known to the American people, only to the actors who played a role in this episode of American history.
Rudy Giuliani is the newest actor in the Trump/Muller cast. He is on board now to hustle Mueller along to the investigation’s conclusion. Trump wants this “distraction” over with, he’s got bigger fish to fry, and maybe he does. We’d all like this wrapped up so we can move on to our next reality show.
At the heart of this reality show is us, We the People. We have the power by our right to vote to make America the best it can be. Our general apathy, however, and exasperation with our leaders has rendered us ineffective. The quality of American leadership is as questionable as our collective intellect and values which have been demonstrated by our vote.
You have to ask yourself, what if all the allegations against Trump are verified? Let’s say he did all of those things, the collusion, the sex, the financial fraud, tax evasion, obstruction justice. Then what? So what? What else is new? Say he is impeached. Then what? Mike Pence becomes president ...lame duck Speaker Paul Ryan is next in line? Why don’t I still feel safe, and what does any of that have to do with us? We’ll all be distracted by the next news cycle and find something else to complain about while the new leadership is installed ...then here we go again.
Will justice have been served? Will the truth have set us free? Maybe it will for just a few minutes, until the next distraction.
It’s going to be interesting to see just what the Mueller investigation yields. I’m sure they are working diligently toward the truth, just like the Warren investigation did. I wonder, however, if they, like Warren, are beginning to worry if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. Bringing an American president down in this manner, however correct and moral it may be, may have serious, long reaching implications, well beyond just the mere righteous, momentary spectacle of justice served.
The legend of President John F. Kennedy has been printed. However, you may need to read between the lines for the full story. The legend of President Trump is yet to be printed. I wonder if truth or legend will prevail.
Another famous quote from a classic film comes to mind ...“You can’t handle the truth!”
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.
