Editorial voices from across the country
Editorial voices from newspapers across the United States:
We frequently disagreed with Gov. Mike Pence’s policies, but never his demeanor. He practices the art of political and personal civility, and he generally promotes basic American values.
As Pence prepares to ascend to the vice presidency, it may be instructive to ponder the strengths and weaknesses of his style as governor.
As governor, Pence has seemed most effective when he has drawn on his skills as a problem-solver and suggested new approaches. His Regional Cities plan, for instance, was a creative answer to the need for Indiana to help struggling rural counties share in economic development. His response to the state’s opioid crisis was a triumph of practicality over ideology. He created a task force that included a wide range of decision-makers and implemented their recommendations quickly.
Pence was at his best when he fashioned a conservative alternative to the Medicaid-expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare remains anathema to Pence. But without Pence’s willingness to look for a workable solution, hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers would have been left without access to medical insurance.
Pence was at his least effective when he allowed ideology to dictate his decisions. His efforts to promote Indiana and attract business to the state, for instance, were undercut by his support for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, widely viewed as condoning discrimination against gays. The 2015 law triggered widespread outrage and forced the legislature to draft a quick “fix.”
Pence could become just another ideological voice in the Trump administration. But Pence at his best could attempt to bring a blend of caring, civility and pragmatism to Trump-era policies.
Forgive us if we veer from political correctness to state the obvious: The relatively new word “misgendering” does not easily roll off most people’s lips.
Still, our struggles with this expression are modest. Much worse is the notion that mistaking a transgender person’s preferred gender is somehow an offense against humanity that requires proactive steps to head it off.
We find ourselves contemplating these issues because the University of Kansas in Lawrence prompts us to. KU library staff and any interested students can choose one of three buttons to wear to spell out their preferred gender pronouns.
Our college campuses lately have invited criticism for attempts to create “safe spaces” and “safe zones” where certain forms of speech and certain conduct are restricted, so as not to offend or cause someone to feel distress. Telling people what pronouns are acceptable is another step in promoting an overly protective environment that in no way resembles the real world.
Consider this an idea from the Department of Unlikely Tomes: How about a volume about the secret lives of people who forget to return overdue library books?
It could include a recent tale of redemption from the Brooklyn Public Library, where Barbara Roston, 72, returned a faded green copy of “Gone With the Wind” whose origins had long been forgotten. It was only when she took the novel down from her bookshelf to reread it that she found the library bookplate. Also inside was a warning that if the book were not returned, a nickel-a-day fine would be assessed from Nov. 19, 1959 onward – apparently, in perpetuity.
Roston returned the book forthwith. According to The New York Times – we will trust its math on this – on the day she returned the tale of Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler and the fall of the old South, the fine had reached $1,042, give or take a dime.
The march of time and technology did work in Roston’s favor. The book had never been entered in the library’s computer system, so no fine was assessed. Roston, free of obligation, made a $50 donation, an honorable act. But the volume isn’t going back on the shelves – it will be put on display as a reminder that it’s important to return books.