By Andrew Bagley |
While at home recuperating from a recent outpatient surgery,
I received an email from Elijah Mondy, the owner of KJIW-FM 94.5 in Helena-West
Helena. The email, sent to a large group, provided a transcript
of a set of editorial comments that he aired frequently on his station on
Monday. After reading the email, I
turned the radio dial over to his station near the top of the hour to hear the
news and his commentary live.
Elijah Mondy: Stop Criticizing Mayor Willis |
In the editorial comments, KJIW’s chief executive officer
calls on councilmen and the citizenry to mute their criticisms of Helena-West
Helena Mayor Arnell Willis, even in the face of obvious chicanery,
disingenuousness, and mismanagement. Why? He says because Arnell Willis is the Mayor and we have the Golden Rule. While decorum could certainly be improved in all areas of our political
discourse from the local to the national level, the commentary’s solution to
ask other alderman and attendees at local meetings to sit mute in the face of prevarications,
poor governance, and dictatorial tactics provides a misguided path that leads
to continued failure for our government in a democratic society. While listening to him say Mayor Willis should get a pass, it makes a person wonder how those that agree with this position would allow the citizenry and
members of the legislative branch to oppose what many believe has been a
disastrous 21 months under Arnell Willis.
History provides us with some guidance concerning why the
on-air directive to the community is wrong in its conclusions.
History shows us repeatedly that questioning the established authorities
in times of corruption, incompetence, and crisis has been essential to
overthrowing the failed leadership. Mr.
Mondy, as he usually does, seeks to make this a Biblical command to let Willis
off the hook. He seems to forget how
Jesus challenged the authorities of the day.
Has he forgotten the money changers being thrown out of the temple? That certainly wasn’t a display of deferential
respect for the established rules or the rule makers.
To continue in the realm of religious history, where would
Christianity be had it not been for the courage of a man named Martin Luther? In the 16th century when he
challenged the growing corruption in the Catholic church, he literally
challenged the Pope who led all of the Christians in that day. Would the
owner of KJIW have had Mr. Luther stifle his discourse rather than nail those
95 theses to the door at the Church of Wittenburg? Would the author of this commentary have had
us continue buying indulgences as a cash payment for salvation? Because of Luther’s courage and his
questioning of authority, the freedom of Protestant Christianity was born and
the corruption of the Catholic Church of the 16th century was forced
to reform. I don’t think there is any
doubt that this resulted in a better Christianity and is the result of a clear confrontation
with the established religious authorities.
Let us now look to our American experience. In the world dreamed of in the radio
editorial, the Founding Fathers would have not taken on King George III to question
the taxation without representation that was being imposed upon the 13
colonies. If we followed the admonitions
of Mr. Mondy, we would still be singing “God Save the Queen” instead of “My
Country Tis of Thee.” We would not have
established the greatest experiment in republican government on the face of the
Earth and become the most powerful and wealthiest nation on the planet. There would have been no United States of
America to save the world from Hitler during World War II. The willingness of those great men like
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Alexander
Hamilton and many others to question and fail to respect the despotic ways of
the English monarchy in the 18th century gave us this free society
we have today.
In the 20th century, many across this country
failed to respect and actually defied the laws of the existing authorities to
rid our society of segregation and de jure discrimination on the basis of
race. Simply because Bull Connor was
Mayor didn’t mean he shouldn’t be questioned or even defied. He was wrong.
Other leaders across the south were wrong. If those men and women who questioned the
authorities and defied the laws setting up segregation had followed the guidance
of the on-air editorial, many in this country would not have the opportunity to
be all they can be because of the legal discrimination that might still be
pervasive.
In short, the history of the world is filled with great
moments that were fueled by courageous individuals fighting the establishment
and defying the authority of the day.
Martin Luther was excommunicated from the church and forced to practice
his faith underground. The Patriots had to fight a war for independence against the
British where many would die for the cause.
Martin Luther King, Jr. went to
jail and was ultimately assassinated. Senator
Robert Kennedy would be killed as he stood up for many of these same values in
his 1968 run for President. The directives included in the commentary aired on KJIW would lead us down a
path where poor leadership is never questioned or forced to take responsibility
for its actions.
Does Mr. Mondy really believe what he says or does he simply
want Mayor Willis to proceed unchecked and be able to continue to steamroll an
opposition calling for answers to questions and demanding more than double
talk, deceptions, and untruths? That is
debatable based on Mr. Mondy’s own recent actions.
It hasn’t been that long ago that Mr. Mondy on the airwaves of his three stations that can be heard in four states did not show the
deference he wants for Mayor Willis to President Barack Obama. When Mr. Obama took a position on marriage
equality for homosexual couples that Mr. Mondy disagreed with, he took to the
airwaves raising more kinds of holy perdition than Dante had levels of hell to
discuss. He did what those opposed to
Mayor Willis and what many Americans throughout the history of this country
have done when they have disagreed with our leaders. He spoke out.
He brought in others to his radio station that would carry his
banner. He did everything but play “Onward
Christian Soldiers” in the background as he spoke. It appears it is OK if he speaks out, but it
isn’t ok for the opponents of Mayor Willis to speak out.
Locally, Mr. Mondy recently pronounced from his Holy Hill in Helena
that he would not carry Central High School Cougar Football anymore. That's his right. But he did so without talking to the
Superintendent of the Helena-West Helena School District or its Athletic
Director before doing so. He just took
his microphone and went home, leaving the athletic department and the
student-athletes in a lurch. That
doesn’t sound like he gave those figures in authority the same respect he
demands everyone else give to Mayor Arnell Willis. Why is that respect required for the Mayor of Helena-West Helena and not for the hard-working Superintendent of the Helena-West Helena School District?
In closing, the conduct advocated in the commentary
undermines the democratic process instead of enhances it. Democracy requires a free exchange of ideas,
even if those exchanges aren’t always pleasant or polite. It cannot function if the opposition is told it must stop criticizing the person who occupies a position of authority simply because they are in a position of authority. Protest is a part of a healthy democracy.
Everyone would like to see people get along better and have better manners, but not
at the expense of sacrificing conviction to let the corruption present be given
a pass. This administration has a very
poor record of management and judgment.
Mayor Willis deserves to be questioned about the poor financial
management during his 21 months. He had
cash in the bank, a projected surplus, and a solid foundation to build upon
when taking office. He came in and
immediately hired convicted felons as department heads and now the phones don’t always ring. Mr. Mondy asks that criticism of Mayor Willis
cease because he holds an important office, and he does it in the name of the Bible while
at the same time criticizing those he disagrees with in a manner similar to what he complains happens to Mayor Willis.
The esteemed leader of the area’s radio station specializing
in gospel music has taken actions to shield Mr. Willis’s administration from
criticism in recent months. One must
wonder why he all of sudden has chosen to protect Willis at his media outlet.
Finally, he offers no solution for the airing of
grievances. Mayor Willis acts as if our
city is totalitarian North Korea and is averaging a police officer for every four spectators
at council meetings and is threatening to arrest anyone who dares to declare an
opinion opposite his at those meetings.
Willis fires those who dare associate or fraternize with his political
foes. Those actions fly in the face of
the values that have made this country great.
Perhaps we should start with giving more respect for the dissenting
opinions at the council meetings. Perhaps
Mr. Mondy should start with the defending the right of the people to express
their opinions as freely as he expresses his.
If we want to live in a dictatorship like Willis seeks to create at council
meetings, we could move to China, Cuba, Russia, or Venezuela.
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