Blog Archive » 2006 » June

I saw my first eagle of this Adirondack season yesterday — but, no, not at some remote, romantic backcountry lake. She was circling looking for a parking place near the Price Chopper in busy Lake Placid (the Adirondacks' answer to Georgetown), finally settling onto the top of a tall birch tree skeleton. She was gone before my camera could focus, heading west to see if traffic was any better in Saranac Lake (marginally).

The eagle at the Price Chopper is a good symbol of the many contradictions in the Adirondacks today. Conservation and development co-exist uneasily, each needing the other, but destesting that need. More than 100 years have passed since New York State declared the forest preserve "forever wild," and that law and philosophy, ardently maintained and hotly debated at times, made it possible for eagles to reappear not only here but in other places that have attended to endangered species with care and the leverage of law.

But the eagles and herons and loons have had to learn to live with the Price Choppers and tree choppers and other signs of human development, however limited. The very limitations on development that ensure only relatively small patches of civilization on the edges of the deep wilderness also create hardship for the humans who are the year-round residents, the stewards of the North Country who are increasingly worried about the state of the economy up here. Too many storefronts are closed in Tupper Lake, once a bustling commercial center. Too many young people leave upstate New York never to return. The Price Chopper is the only fully-stocked supermarket for many miles. Those of us who come here for a few weeks in the summer delight in the faux-rustic sensibilities and comfy waterfront cottages. The year-round residents live more modestly back from the lakes through the long winters and cold springs.

"Forever wild" is essential for the health of not only this region but the planet as well. But economic development is also necessary to support human advancement. Finding the balance all over the globe is one of the great environmental, scientific and moral challenges of this era in civilization. The eagle at the Price Chopper should be a rare curiosity for both.

My annual trip to the Adirondacks is a bit like an allegorical journey through the netherworld to Paradise. First, the wear and tear of everyday life: I-95 to Philadelphia. Then, the slow crawl through Purgatory, otherwise known as the "Northeast Extension" of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-81 from Clark's Summit to Binghamton. Hell, of course, is getting trapped between 18-wheelers in a thunderstorm on this twisting stretch of highway.

Noticeable improvement begins immediately past Binghamton, on I-88 across the lovely southern tier of New York, all rolling hills and farmland, appropriately accompanied by something Mozart. Then up Route 28 through Cooperstown (so much more than the Baseball Hall of Fame), a stop for lunch at the Doubleday Cafe, and on past Cooper's "Glimmerglass," the majestic Lake Otsego with its aqua waters. Over the high ridge to Mohawk, and on through the central New York towns with names from the Old World: Rome, Russia, Poland.

Anticipation builds to Alder Creek, and then,at last, the sign of Paradise at White Lake: "Adirondack Park" says the sign, and I cross the invisible blue line into six million acres of forest and lakes and mountains and wildlife. 70 miles later, in the heart of this beautiful region, I pull into Long Lake where I spend two weeks getting caught up on reading, loons, herons, bears and life beyond the Beltway.

Up here in the North Country, there are worrisome signs that policymakers inside the Beltway need to think about: not much snow in the last two unusually warm winters; friends here say they've sold their snowmobiles. Rain is plentiful, the forests are lush, the ducks are happy. But miserly snowfalls… something to think about.

Paul McCartney has done it, he's hitting the big 6-4. Bully for Paul. I'm still ten years younger. And likely to remain so!

Amid all of the predictable commentaries on the man who made "When I'm Sixty-Four" a memorable lyric, there are a few worthwhile thoughts: youth and old age are states of mind as well as body — I know a few curmudgeonly 45-year-olds and many remarkably youthful and productive 70-year-olds. I think of Washingtonian Publisher Philip Merrill who, sadly, remains missing a week after his sailboat turned up empty on the Chesapeake. He was still sailing at age 72 and loving every turn of the wind. The accident was a tragedy, but the fact that he was out sailing was a powerful statement of his youthfulness and vigor at an age that used to be considered well past retirement. Philip was always so gracious to me and Trinity —I will miss him! And I will remember and hope to emulate his model of vigorous engagement with so many professional and recreational activities well into his 7th decade of life.

While many early Baby Boomers are now thinking about retirement, among my friends I most often hear not a desire to occupy a rocking chair on a porch, but rather, eager anticipation of having time, at long last, to undertake projects or to achieve goals long-deferred in the years when the priorities of young families and the workplace came first. Most want to keep working, but not for institutions or corporations — they want to work for themselves in the time-honored lingo of "consulting." They want to set their own schedules, have more control of their time and the kind of work they choose to do.

Unfortunately, for too many older Americans, such control over their affairs is not possible — the later life stages are fraught with economic uncertainty and too much stress over inadequate health care. Just as the Boomer generation remade so many other dimensions of society, I hope we can bring our economic and political clout to bear on improving the conditions of life for the older population.

An even greater emphasis on education for second careers and retooling skills for new kinds of work will also characterize the aging Boomers. Lifelong learning is a key element of the future plans of many people contemplating the next stage of their intellectual lives. Here at Trinity, the average age of our students in the School of Professional Studies is 45, and we have students in their late 50's, 60's and 70's. In the years to come, Trinity will develop more programs to appeal to older adults who now have the time and experience to enjoy and learn from great literature, art and music, philosophy and science, or those who want to start their own businesses or develop new technical skills.

Retired? Hardly! Our current and future students will be retooling their minds so as to enjoy an even more robust life in their later decades. Trinity will be there for them. And that's what I fully expect to see going on at Trinity — when I'm eighty-four (the new 64)!

See Beatles, PAUL McCARTNEY, Lifelong Learning, Boomers

I've been thinking all day about what I could say about the decision of the New York Times to illustrate a story ("The Ascent of a Woman") about women presidents (of nations, not fashion magazines) with a gigantic pink purse on the front page of the "Sunday Styles" section. Of course, the fact that a story about women achieving high political offices is in "Styles" also speaks volumes about the incalculable ways in which the editors of what is arguably the nation's most prestigious newspaper just don't get it.

You have to turn to Page Six in the print edition to see the actual photographs and names of the most powerful women in the world, those who actually won elections to lead nations: Michele Bachelet of Chile, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Mary McAleese of Ireland, Angela Merkel of Germany, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines, Tarja Halonen of Finland. I wonder if any of them have pink purses. Somehow, it seems to me that they might be busy with other concerns.

I have no idea if the purse is Prada or Jimmy Choo or K-Mart. Frankly, it's not of interest to me, or to millions of women and men who truly care about the future of this nation. I want to know who will be capable of restoring peace, alleviating poverty, improving education, securing a more certain future for the health care of the nation, advancing equal opportunity for all people. The pink purse image trivializes and objectifies the potential of women to take powerful leadership positions on these and so many other issues.

The article also had the obligatory reference to the demise of "Commander in Chief," a fictional television show, for crying out loud, starring Geena Davis. Why is it not surprising that commentators who think a pink purse is a good symbol of powerful women leaders would also confuse electoral politics with Nielsen ratings?

Yes, I would like to think that women would be considered as equally capable and talented as men when it comes to choosing among candidates for the awesome responsibilities of high office, including president of the United States.
The article focuses exclusively on Hillary Clinton, in contrast to the women leaders of other nations, as the only possible U.S. candidate for president who happens to be female. But Mrs. Clinton is not the only possible future candidate for high office. There are many other hugely capable women in this nation. With all respect to her many achievements, the exclusive focus on her potential candidacy undercuts the possibility that other women might also be candidates. This is not about one political party, one politician, one way of promoting women's potential. Those of us who are concerned for the advancement of all women in politics must insist on broadening this national discussion to include a broader range of potential female candidates so that the interests of all women are not reduced to the question of whether one particular woman is electable.

Trinity is in the business of educating women for leadership positions in all parts of our society. Some of our graduates have attained some of the highest elective offices in the nation: Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi '62 has achieve what no other woman has ever achieved — election to the party leadership position in Congress. Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius '70 is one of only 8 women governors. I have no idea if these immensely powerful and talented women own pink purses. I do know that they should not be trivialized by cheap fashion statements that distract from the real issues.

See Hillary, Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, Michele Bachelet, Sirleaf, Angela Merkel

Shameless. What else can be said about the stunningly crass, self-serving statements that pundit Ann Coulter made about the widows of 9/11 victims in her latest book "Godless: the Church of Liberalism." This is not about the politics of the left or right, war or peace. This is about fundamental, essential respect for human dignity.

It's also about selling her book. She's making money by making vicious fun of other people's trauma.

Why should I care so much about this? I don't know the particular women whom Coulter named, but I do know women and families who suffered the worst possible kind of losses on September 11. Trinity alumnae and members of our extended family lost sons, husbands, relatives, teachers, children, friends on September 11. This all came home to me again just last Saturday as I spoke with an alumna at Reunion whose son died at the World Trade Center. The national tragedy of that day cannot begin to compare to the awful realities that individual families experienced. No amount of politics can possibly trump their sorrow. The response of all of us in the rest of the national family should be nothing other than the utmost compassion and solidarity.

I won't dignify Coulter's ugly words by repeating them here. They are readily available in various places on the Internet. What's utterly sad is that certain mainstream media choose to glorify such venom. Time magazine recently anointed Coulter as a member of the 100 "Most Influential" people in the world. I bet we all could easily name 100 worthier people than Coulter, women and men whose good work has improved so many more lives than the wretched excesses of Coulter's daggers have harmed. But good works don't sell magazines.

One of the worst characteristics of contemporary public life is the tendency to a kind of radical absolutism on just about any topic, leaving no room for compromise, for mutual growth through open dialogue, for compassion — for forgiveness, yes, even the possibility of admitting error. A nation whose public discourse reveals an increasingly bankrupt human sensitivity cannot possibly bring peace to a troubled world. Responsible public leadership — not only political leaders, but leaders of the press, the broadcast media, corporate and civic life — should insist on restoring a level of human respect, proportion and common sense to public discussion of the profoundly difficult issues of our times.

See Anne Coulter, coulter, September 11, Godless