Statesman speaks; would-be king gets a pittance

By Brian Greenspun (contact)

Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 | 2 a.m.

I have two words for the many business, social and political leaders of Nevada who filled in as “Where I Stand” columnists while I took a vacation. Thank you.

Thank you for becoming columnists for a day, which in some cases meant traveling way outside your comfort zones. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Las Vegas, its future and our country’s future with the people of this community whose jobs, lives and aspirations are largely shaped by what you do in yours. And thanks for caring enough to “put yourself out there,” which in today’s world means inviting what Shakespeare referred to as the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” — and what I call the slings and arrows of outrageous commenters.

For those who missed the columns, I encourage you to click the links to the right and read them. Learn firsthand what our community and state leaders think — without any interpretation from others. Warning: It will take more than 10 seconds to read because the columns are much longer than 140 characters. But I guarantee you will learn something.

Now that I am back, there are two things that happened this past week that deserve comment.

The first was President Barack Obama’s last address to the United Nations as president. The full transcript can be found here, and it is worth the read.

We all know the president is good at giving speeches and, I dare say, there is a large number of people in this country who think they have heard enough from him over the past almost-eight years. But if ever there were just one more speech to listen to, it would be the one he gave to the representatives of countries from all over our world, gathering Tuesday in New York City.

He wasn’t his typical rosy self. He didn’t wax eloquent with high praises and lofty phrases for issues and events that may have not been quite deserving. Instead, addressing those assembled for the grandest experiment in a calm, safe and secure world ordering, he told the cold and unvarnished truth about where this world sits and the choices we have to make if world peace and security is truly our goal.

His speech was a history lesson and a civics lesson rolled into one. It was at the same time aspirational in its direction and inspirational in its tone. And, yes, it was also truth-telling in its harsher view of our global community and the pursuit of the old ways of personal and parochial power at the expense of global sanity and security.

I watched the hundreds of representatives listen to his words — many through interpreters, although I suspect most didn’t need to do so — who stared impassively toward the podium as he singled out their countries for unusually bad behavior. And, yes, he didn’t spare his own country — and, by extension, his own leadership — the criticism it fairly deserved.

What I took from that speech were the observations of the man who has lived on the hot seat of world leadership for the past eight years — knowing full well his successes and failures — and his fervent desire to lead the United Nations forward knowing he will soon exit from that world stage. Regardless of your political beliefs and any personal considerations you might have for or against President Obama, his words are both a modern history lesson and a lesson in statesmanship that should be required reading.

And because what we do today is never about us, but rather our children and grandchildren, perhaps the wise choice would be to have them read the speech. After all, they are the people inheriting tomorrow, and it will be their choices that will matter most.

Speaking of inheriting tomorrow …

I was struck by a story earlier in the week that Las Vegas’ own multibillionaire, Sheldon Adelson, had decided to spend considerable millions of dollars on U.S. House and Senate races this year rather than heavy up for the Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Let me rephrase that: Giving $5 million to Trump is a pretty heavy dose for a fellow who has bragged about financing his own campaign, but it is a paltry sum compared with the $100 million or so that Sheldon had hinted might be available to his preferred candidate and which, history has shown, he is more than capable of and willing to contribute for the right person.

I can only conclude from that story — assuming it is accurate — that even Mr. Adelson can’t bring himself or his family to the table when it comes to Trump’s candidacy. It is a candidacy that reeks of anti-Semitism, misogyny, anti-immigrant and anti-other sentiments that give voice and legitimacy to the worst in our society. Supporting that kind of candidacy is not whom I believe Sheldon Adelson is. And that proves my theory of this upcoming election.

Deep down, the American people are decent and responsible. They will never put the fate of this country in the hands of a man whose very nature is to seek the worst among us rather than to encourage our better angels.

Campaign slogans and rhetoric aside, Americans yearn to make our union more perfect, not less. We seek positive change, not negative, and we see ourselves as a beacon of light to the world, not a source of darkness and gloom.

That is one reason the news from former President George H.W. Bush is so telling. He is a good and decent American, and he cannot vote for Trump. The word is that he “is with her,” but that is almost beside the point. He is not with him!

So it should not surprise anyone that Sheldon Adelson is withholding his support — other than what is for him a token amount for the Republicans — for the man who would like to be king.

What would surprise — and disappoint — me is if the opposite were true.

Brian Greenspun is publisher, editor and owner of the Sun.