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Kansas Day: What Would William Allen White Say Today?

1/29/2016

1 Comment

 
In 1922, journalist and famous Kansan William Allen White said, “When anything is going to happen in this country, it happens first in Kansas.” The examples he used were abolition, prohibition, and populism.

A contemporary example of something that’s happened first in Kansas would be the full implementation of the Arthur Laffer Trickle Down economic theory that many believe has never worked and never will.

So what would William Allen White say today?
​
Well, for the benefit of the entire country, Kansas is clearly demonstrating it doesn’t work and it is to the point that other states have already taken notice and are taking steps to avoid the financial mess we’re experiencing.

Despite Kansas having a long, bipartisan history of properly supporting public schools and building and taking care of our infrastructure, we got sucked into the Laffer theory. Turning this ship around will not be easy and the longer we wait, the harder it will be and the more damage will have been inflicted. Key will be how long it will take for voters to be willing to vote incumbents—​not all, just those who supported this change—​out of office. And that will depend upon voters feeling the pain and turning it into action by speaking up and turning out the vote for candidates willing to help lead us back to sanity.

But let’s be perfectly clear, electing candidates for a return to sanity will not be easy. There are powerful forces with lots of money in support of those who have gotten us into this mess. In addition, a very aggressive State Chamber of Commerce will have no reluctance to use any tactics that will bring their desired results. That is why our candidates for sanity will need all of our help.

I will have more to say on how we can build and strengthen this coalition in future blog posts, but perhaps the next thing to “happen first in Kansas” will be the birth of a better politics focused on compromise and unity among a broad, sane middle who stand together to support what’s in the best interest of the state.

Kansas Day 2017 Update:
In 2016, I shared this blog post about the next story to "happen first in Kansas." I wrote about the birth of a new politics based on sanity, civility, and the ability to compromise for the best interests of the people. As a result of the 2016 elections and the engagement of citizens statewide, Kansas may indeed be writing that new story as we speak. This time, we have the opportunity to build a model for the rest of the country, as we work to raise critical thinking and engagement around the recent actions coming from the White House. According to the designers of the "Kansas experiment," they're looking forward to the implementation of this playbook in Washington, D.C. So, as we celebrate our founding as the 34th state, let us continue to build on this "Kansas model" of both activism and civility, which can help lead change for the benefit of all 50 states. Then we can truly say, "it happened first in Kansas."
Governor John Carlin, Kansas Day 1986
This photo was taken at the celebration and parade for Kansas' 125th birthday on January 29th, 1986.
1 Comment
John Marshall
1/29/2016 06:16:52 pm

Gov. Carlin is, again, correct.
White was a progressive, a Republican of the old sort, one who believed in government as an institution to help the citizenry aspire to a better life, and communities to ascend to be better places to live, rather than places that are just lived-in. Without strong communities we cannot have a strong state.
White would be horrified today to see the governor and his crackpot fringe dissembling what generations before had worked so long to achieve. He would denounce them, their rollicking economic lechery, these squads of brigands and their fanatical leader, moved only by a primal urge to prevail.
Here's more of what White said, in celebrating the grand accomplishments of a great state (then), in 1922:
"Kansas is the Mother Shipton, the Madame Thebes, the Witch of Endor, and the low barometer of the nation. When anything is going to happen in this country, it happens first in Kansas. Abolition, Prohibition, Populism, the Bull Moose, the exit of the roller towel, the appearance of the bank guarantee, the blue sky law, the adjudication of industrial dispute as distinguished from the arbitration of industrial differences – these things come popping out of Kansas like bats out of hell."
Today, we have nothing like it. Nothing, that is, but that Glidepath to Zero, to nowhere.

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    John W. Carlin​—​61st Speaker of the Kansas House, 40th Governor of Kansas, 8th Archivist of the United States, and student of leadership

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