Knight says: ‘Fare thee well’

Bill Knight column for 10-28, 29 or 30, 2021

 I’m sorry to add to too many goodbyes, but after almost 2,000 columns since 2008 and 23 years of weekly radio commentaries, this is my farewell.

When Western Illinois University’s Library asked for decades of my material for its regional writers archives, an old friend said, “When did our past become someone else’s history?”

Maybe it always was.

Philip Graham was publisher of the Washington Post and Newsweek in 1963 when he said, “Let us today drudge on about our inescapably impossible task of providing … a first rough draft of a history that will never be completed about a world we can never really understand.”

I’ve been in journalism since I was 16, when I covered high school football in my hometown, roaming sidelines, getting details from an understanding coach, writing it up and dropping it off at the brick building on the corner of the town square where printers running Linotypes opened windows on nice days.

That weekly’s editor had come to a class to recruit someone for a few bucks per story; I was the only volunteer. Looking at the articles now, they’re accurate but overwritten and needed quotes but aren’t bad for a guy whose experience had been phoning in statistics to area newspapers’ sports desks.

In college, I worked at the student paper and helped launch “alternative” publications. Afterward, I went to a chain of weeklies, and then started a Midwest weekly tabloid before landing at the Peoria Journal Star, where I covered concerts, reviewed movies, wrote features, and handled the environmental beat, with interruptions to work at a Washington, D.C., weekly and for a San Diego newspaper union, and then doing radio features and public-radio commentaries while I taught journalism at WIU.

It seems like ages, yet a blink. After more than five decades, offering perspectives has been a privilege: exhilarating and exhausting.

Now, I thank all the editors and – though relationships, recognition and even awards have been nice –especially readers: the reason writers write. Some write like gardeners, planting and pruning with precision and patience; others like construction workers, building foundations, erecting “load-bearing walls,” and trying to ensure the text has decent “plumbing.”

Regardless of the results, efforts exist – persist – to inform or engage minds beyond social-media silos or TV blather. Columns are a small part of what makes communities think and talk: civic conversation-starters. As Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Arthur Miller said, “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.”

My departure isn’t “This Could Be the Last Time,” as the Rolling Stones sang. I’ll still write for a monthly or two. I may return to an unfinished novel, pen something on aviator Frank Hawks, and work on a book of Carl Sandburg journalism; re-read musician/author Kinky Friedman’s quirky mysteries; plus play with our granddaughter and just play more.

Overall, things in journalism have changed, some profoundly, but it’s still a collective effort, even with fewer people part of the process. There are dangers of communities becoming “news deserts” with too few local voices singing praises, barking objections, and sharing beliefs.

            Looking back, I still believe in the social-justice teachings of my church, that most Americans are caring and courageous, that journalists should “give voice to the voiceless and hold the powerful accountable,” that it’s OK to be an “aginner,” as Mom used to say, because mouths shouldn’t be shut but open (an aunt commented, “Everyone’s entitled to their stupid opinion”).

I still believe in summer baseball in parks large and small, that Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead and NRBQ are rock ‘n’ roll necessities, that homemade ice cream is one of God’s gifts, and, as Kinky wrote, “When you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you've ever had in your life come running to meet you.”

Finally, in the words of reporter/editor Stanley Walker, “What makes a good newspaperman? The answer is easy. He knows everything. He is aware not only of what goes on in the world today, but his brain is a repository of the accumulated wisdom of the ages. He is not only handsome, but he has the physical strength which enables him to perform great feats of energy. He can go for nights on end without sleep. He dresses well and talks with charm. Men admire him; women adore him; tycoons and statesmen are willing to share their secrets with him. He hates lies, meanness and sham but keeps his temper. He is loyal to his paper and to what he looks upon as his profession; whether it is a profession or merely a craft, he resents attempts to debase it.

“When he dies, a lot of people are sorry, and some of them remember him for several days.”

Lessons from one hostage survivor

 Bill Knight column for 10-25, 26 or 27. 2021

The day a gang who’d kidnapped 17 members of a U.S. missionary group demanded $17 million for the release of the hostages, I visited a park where the Newspaper Guild union in 1989 planted a commemorative tree for another hostage. After admiring its gold/green leaves, dropping like crinkly feathers, I came home to locate a metal bracelet reading “Terry Anderson. Hebrews 13:30” and a signed copy of “Den of Lions,” Anderson’s memoir I got after meeting the journalist/author at a conference decades ago.

Anderson, the one-time, long-time hostage, is 74 this week; the bracelet’s scripture is timeless: “Remember prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place.”

During Anderson’s 2,455 days of imprisonment, many people tried to free him, especially his sister Peggy Say, but also the Reagan and Bush administrations, and journalists, hundreds petitioning Iran’s leaders, thought to have influence with his captors.

In ’89, the Journalists Committee to Free Terry Anderson was frustrated at so little action and dwindling attention to Anderson, an increasingly forgotten man.

“As long as the press is silent and the government does not feel the heat, they are not likely to do anything,” said National Press Club president Lee Roderick, committee coordinator. “Get angry.”

Anderson was the Associated Press Middle East bureau chief when he was abducted by Hezbollah, a Shiite sect seeking to expel Westerners, about 6 a.m. on March 16, 1985, during the Lebanese Civil War. One of several hostages kept by the group, he was held for six years and nine months. becoming a lens through which Americans saw that conflict.

Born in Ohio and raised in New York, Anderson was a U.S. Marine in Vietnam. After his 1970 discharge, he attended Iowa State University, graduating in 1974 with a B.A. in journalism and political science. After working in TV/radio news in Des Moines, he joined the Ypsilanti (Mich.) Post, then, for the AP, state editor, foreign-desk editor, broadcast editor, Tokyo correspondent, South Africa correspondent, Middle East news editor, and chief Middle East correspondent.

In Beirut since 1983. he was returning from his regular Saturday-morning tennis game when he was seized on the street, put in a car trunk, and taken to an unknown location – the first of more than 15 sites where he was caged. During his captivity, he was initially isolated, then imprisoned with others. Beaten, tortured and often blindfolded, he eventually was given materials to let him write.

Anderson was repeatedly told his release was imminent, but then just moved. His frustration grew so great that he once banged his head against a wall until it bled. Anderson never stopped living: He created games from whatever was at hand, learned French from hostage Thomas Sutherland (from American University in Beirut), and renewed his faith with help from hostage Lawrence Jenco (a Catholic priest)

In the 1980s – an era Time magazine called “the decade of hostages” – Anderson was one of 92 foreigners (including 17 Americans) held by groups like Hezbollah.

Perhaps as a result of stories about Anderson’s plight, Mideast kidnappings seemed to decline.

The last one released, Anderson was brought to Syrian officers on December 4, 1991, when he was driven to Damascus to face reporters, saying, “I’ll try to answer a few questions, although you’ll understand I have a date with a couple of beautiful ladies and I’m already late.” He was reunited with fiancé Madeleine Bassil and their daughter Sulome, born three months after his abduction.

Anderson wrote the best-selling “Den of Lions,” taught at Columbia, Kentucky, Ohio and Syracuse universities, and won a lawsuit against Hezbollah sponsor Iran, winning millions of dollars from frozen Iranian assets held in the United States. With those proceeds, he invested in the Blue Gator nightclub in Ohio, a restaurant in the Caribbean, and a horse ranch, but he filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Anderson also launched charities that continue, including the Father Lawrence Jenco Foundation and the Vietnam Children’s Fund with Vietnamese-American actress Kiều Chinh.

In 2004, Anderson ran as a Democrat for Ohio’s 20^th Senate District, losing to an appointed incumbent, Republican Joy Padgett, whose campaign accused Anderson of being “soft on terrorism.”

Through it all, Anderson has been somewhat of a free spirit, appropriately enough, living in Florida, Ohio and Virginia, and he seems to have shed the anger others sought to free him, ensuring his life is about more than unjust imprisonment. Family is important: Sulome is a “damn good journalist,” he’s said, and a second daughter, from his first marriage, is a lawyer.

His response to his ordeal is inspiring.

“I don't hate anybody,” Anderson’s said, often smiling. “I'm a Christian and a Catholic, and it’s really required of me that I forgive, no matter how hard that may be.”

Regular workers need security of ‘Just Cause’ protections

 Bill Knight column for 10-21, 22 or 23, 2021

Bad managers enjoy the freedom of being able to discipline workers “At-Will.” Good workers appreciate “Just Cause” protections.

At Will management empower bosses to be free to be unfair or arbitrary, with workers vulnerable to being punished for being sloppy, a Brewers fan or no reason whatsoever – except in contracts such as collective bargaining agreements, personal-services pacts, Civil Service jobs, or instances related to discriminations based on gender, age, race, able-ness, etc.

In the U.S., 49 of the 50 states operate under the At Will principle (excepting Montana), and 66% of Americans work under it, according to J.H. Verkerke in 2009’s “Labor and Employment Law and Economics.” However, legislators never passed an At Will law. It resulted from court rulings, deriving from an 1877 paper by lawyer and Vermont legislator Horace Gay Wood (titled “Master and Servant”!).

In Illinois, the legislature has a pending measure to become the second state ensuring job security.

“At-Will employment has been a longstanding problem in the state and At-Will termination has long endangered the stability of our communities,” said State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103rd), sponsor of the Employment Security Act (House Bill 3530); Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-11th) is its sponsor (Senate Bill 2332).

Ammons and Villanueva’s measure would require written explanations for worker discipline or discharge, ban “constructive discharges” (where workers are forced to “resign”), provide for severance pay upon dismissal, give fired workers the right to sue employers, and more – creating a “Just Cause” law.

Basically, Just Cause says workers can only be punished for documented reasons tied to poor job performance. preventing unfair retaliation and disguised discrimination.

Most of the world’s employers operate under Just Cause, which generally has seven “tests,” says attorney and author Robert M. Schwartz – There must be prior notice of workplace rules; rules or orders must be reasonable and recently enforced; investigations are required; inquiries and/or hearings must ensure due process; allegations must be proven by substantial evidence; enforcement of the rule or order must apply equally to all workers; and penalties must be progressive (i.e., with at least one step letting workers improve), appropriate, and consider mitigating circumstances.

“Just Cause protection marks a sharp dividing line between union and At Will workers,” Schwartz writes. “With few exceptions, employers may not dismiss union workers unless they engage in egregious or repeated misconduct. On the other hand, employers can fire At Will employees for a single mistake, an argument with a supervisor, an unintentional violation, off-duty conduct, or even for reasons that are patently false.”

The National Employment Law Project and Chicago’s Raise the Floor group report that 37% of Illinois workers are unfairly discharged and 42% have been fired for no reason.

Elsewhere, New York City last year passed a Just Cause ordinance for 67,000 fast-food workers, and Philadelphia the year before did the same for about 1,000 parking-lot attendants.

In Springfield, lawmakers have passed progressive legislation: approving a Clean Energy plan, abolishing cash bail, legalizing recreational marijuana and a increasing the minimum wage. But since April, SB 2332 version has been in the Assignments Committee and HB 3530 in the Rules Committee.

Illinois unions, policy organizations and community groups working as the Stable Jobs Now coalition are lobbying for Just Cause. Its unions include the Amalgamated Transit Union, Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU, and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. But the state AFL-CIO hasn’t signed on.

“The American labor movement has this weird, total exception to the rule that we base this right in collective bargaining,” said Shauna Richman, a Just Cause advocate. “It’s time to get over that. This really should just be a law. It sucks up so much time in collective bargaining. Also, workers know they will be fired for organizing a union. Let’s make it a law that you can’t be fired unless it’s for a good reason, and then we’ll get more unions.”

Organized labor should back the campaign, says Michael Migiel-Schwartz, a Harvard Law School student with the Labor and Employment Lab. He says more unions should join the effort because:

* it takes a little-known need and helps make it acceptable, like labor did with “Fight for $15”,

* the public supports the idea (67%, according to a May poll by Data for Progress), so it broadens grassroots involvement, and

* it could encourage non-union workplaces to organize without fear of reprisal.

 

“Rather than taking away an incentive for workers to unionize, workers under a Just Cause standard will have less to fear over asking for a wage increase, communicating safety complaints, or organizing a union,” Migiel-Schwartz says. “Efforts to enact Just Cause will force employers to speak openly regarding how much dominion they want to wield over employees.”

What are Bishops thinking? (and WWJD?)

Bill Knight column for Mon, Tues., or Wed., 10-18, 19 or 20. 2021

 A Catholic, I can’t explain American Bishops seeking to deny a sacrament to some people any more than I can clarify Bitcoin, the Unified Field Theory, or Cubs ownership. However, I can report on Catholics questioning Bishops’ draft to withhold Communion to politicians who won’t defy U.S. law to conform to some Bishops’ interpretation of Catholic teachings.

The draft passed in mid-June, 168-55, with 6 abstentions. Days later, Bishops backtracked, claiming “there will be no national policy on withholding Communion from politicians” despite their May 22 memo specifically targeting “Catholics who are cultural, political or parochial leaders.”.

President Biden’s faith is vital to him (ex-Speaker John Boehner, a Catholic Republican, said Biden’s “a good man, a good Catholic and a good politician”), so maybe some thought he could be bullied into violating his oath of office.

The Feast of St. Luke is this week. His Gospel stresses salvation for everyone, not just the privileged few, and chronicles the centurion saying to Jesus, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof” – which we say before Communion.

Next month, Bishops will finalize their document; to take effect, Church law requires it must be unanimous or get Vatican approval if two-thirds of the Bishops support it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Catholic Democrat, commented, “To enshrine church doctrine on sexuality as mandatory for all Americans is contrary to our basic liberty. Elevating issues of human sexuality, however important, above all others seems contrary to the Gospel. No reading of the life of Jesus would suggest these issues as his primary, or even secondary, concern. His towering message is about love of neighbor as oneself with a special focus on the poor, sick, hungry, marginalized.”

Indeed, What Would Jesus Do? The 2,000-year-old Church’s stand on abortion is just 152 years old. Pope Pius IX in 1869 set a penalty of excommunication for all abortions – after centuries of teaching that ending a pregnancy was acceptable before the fetus was infused with a soul, at “quickening,” when mothers detect the fetus’ first movement in the womb, indicating a separate consciousness.

Defending today’s Bishops, New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Rummel compared focusing on abortion to fighting racism in the Civil Rights era. The Church did, but now Bishops are mostly silent on other clear teachings such as the death penalty, even as executions increased under Catholic Republicans Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, and former Attorney General Bill Barr.

Hypocrisy extends to Bishops insisting on parishioners respecting hierarchy while disrespecting the authority of Pope Francis.

Francis, who opposes abortion, has sent signals: “What should a shepherd do? Be a shepherd and not going around condemning.”

Communion’s not a prize for the perfect, he’s said, but medicine for the weak.

“Whenever the Church in order to defend a principle, didn’t do it pastorally, it has taken political sides,” Francis said. “If a pastor leaves the pastorality of the Church, he becomes a politician.”

Politician John F. Kennedy, who became the nation’s first Catholic president months later, 61 years ago said, “I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches, or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials.”

Within Catholicism, Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George once said, “I don’t want my priests playing cop at the Communion rail,” and Chicago’s current Cardinal, Blase Cupich, suggests ways to revive Communion’s importance, including its call to participate.

Priests offer thoughtful options. Father Thomas Reese advises the Church to stress who should go, not who shouldn’t, and encourage the “active participation by all people,” as advised by Vatican II.

Another, Father John D. Whitney of Oregon, warns Bishops: “Bishops, priests, etc. are neither the hosts nor the bouncers nor the ones who wrote the guest list. Jesus Christ is the one who invites. (‘Take this, all of you.’). The wait staff doesn’t get to exclude those who want to come. If you don’t like the company Christ calls (admittedly, it is a rag-tag bunch of sinners, one and all), it’s you who need to leave the table, not them.”

In congregations, 67% of American Catholics believe Biden should be permitted to receive Communion regardless of politics, Pew Research found.

To friends of other faiths asking “They’re denying Communion: What in Hell?” I can only say, “I don’t know. Maybe.”