Why I miss Barry

By Pete Hamill

Once upon a time in America, there were public figures like Barry Goldwater.

He was a rock-ribbed conservative Republican. I disagreed with almost all of his political positions and could never have voted for him. He was against the trade unions that gave my father a life with dignity. He was a rigid Cold Warrior. He once suggested that my home city of New York be cut off from the United States and floated out to sea.

But, oh, how I miss him now.

Above all his other qualities, I miss Goldwater's extraordinary penchant for straight talk.

Goldwater always said what he believed. He didn't submit to the slippery guidance of media consultants, who have turned so many of today's politicians into ciphers.

When Richard Nixon, a fellow Republican, was dodging and dissembling during the Watergate scandal, Goldwater said: "Nixon should get his ass out of the White House-today."

Goldwater died in 1998, full of years, respected by people in both major parties and by millions of independents. He was at once a fierce defender of conservative American traditions and a cranky champion of the very American obligation to dissent.

Yet six years after Goldwater's death, we live in a country where the collective lack of courage has infected the language itself. Instead of Goldwater's blunt lucidity, we get evasive weasel words. We don't demand honesty and accountability from our leaders. Not surprisingly, our leaders conclude that we can't handle the truth.

Telling the truth, of course, can carry heavy penalties: condemnation, ostracism, the end of careers. Telling the truth often requires as much courage as that of the foot soldier, the police officer, the firefighter.

The arena is different. There are no rocket-propelled grenades, no roaring fires or desperados with guns. But truly brave people share one big thing: In doing their duty, they can lose everything. Without such people, we can lose everything too.

That is why we must cherish those people who have the guts to speak the truth: mavericks, whistleblowers, disturbers of the public peace. And it's why, in spite of my own continuing (though chastened) liberal faith, I miss Barry Goldwater.

More than ever.

This essay by Pete Hamill is excerpted from an article to be published in Fast Company magazine's September issue.