It’s never too early to start managing your obituary
Author and political pundit Jon Meacham has introduced me to a new term, “obituary management.”
Monday morning on MSNBC, he was discussing with host Willie Geist the harsh criticism seven Republican U.S. senators, including Richard Burr of North Carolina, were receiving from members of their own party for having broken with the GOP to vote for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
“If I were Sen. Burr I would embrace that,” said Meacham, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning work has focused on American history. “Sometimes we talk about ‘obituary management,’ and those seven folks just helped their obituaries. … What is it that you’re remembered for? I’m sure Sen. Burr is a lovely man. I’m sure he’s done a lot for North Carolina and America. But I promise you that the thing right now that looms largest is that he decided that we’re a constitutional republic, not a cult of personality.”
When Burr, 65, passes on — many years from now, we hope! — not only will his vote last Saturday receive a prominent mention in the stories about his death, but it’s likely to be used as an example to show him as a man of principle and character — a profile in courage, if you will.
And look, I’m not here to flyspeck Burr’s record — he voted to support Trump’s positions 89% of the time over the last four years so I could argue all day with him — but to note that Meacham’s onto something important: History tends to judge us by the tough decisions we make. And those who care about how they’ll be remembered always ought to take the long view.
Obituary management. What will appear in those first three paragraphs or so that will define you, if not for posterity, then for your descendants?
He had his finger to the wind? She was noted for always taking the easy way out? He used his power and money primarily to acquire more power and money? Her punches always landed because she was always punching down? He treated well only those who could do him good?
Yes, you’ll be gone and not around to hear the assessments either way. But it matters because reputation matters. Integrity. A good name.
If obituary management is too grim a thought for you, how about “legacy maintenance”?
What examples are you setting right now? To which values are you remaining true?
In, say, 50 years when high school civics students in their home states are studying presidential impeachments, teachers will single out for high praise and respect Burr, Mitt Romney of Utah, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Pat Toomey of Pennand Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Particularly Murkowski, the only one of the seven who will face the voters in 2022.
Time will be as kind to them as it will be merciless to Trump and the cowards and fools who enabled his dark insurrectionist fantasies.
Speaking of … Rush Limbaugh did not do a particularly good job managing his obituary. The hagiographic slop ladled out in the right-wing media following the legendary broadcaster’s death Wednesday notwithstanding, Limbaugh remained a nasty, divisive piece of work right up until the end. He traded in fear, mockery, misogyny, homophobia, racism and used cultural resentments to drive a Trump-sized wedge into the body politic. He was a COVID-19 skeptic and champion of the election-fraud hoax that played out in the U.S. Capitol riot of Jan. 6.
Yes, he was popular and famous. Yes, he made a lot money by using sheer bluster to amplify simplistic contempt for progressives. But no, the ages will not be kind him and his imitators.
Will the ages be kind to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan? The idea of obituary management / legacy maintenance came to mind again Thursday when Madigan, 78, announced his resignation from the House after 50 years in the chamber, 36 of them in the top spot.
His departure wasn’t unexsylvania pected after he lost the speakership last month, but the length of his farewell letter — more than 800 words — was a bit of a surprise given how taciturn and sphinxlike he’s tended to be in his public pronouncements.
The laundry list of accomplishments he claimed — increasing the minimum wage, protecting abortion rights, enacting marriage equality before the Supreme Court made it the law of the land, and so on — indicated that he, too, realizes that earthly judgments beyond those rendered at the ballot box await him.
“It’s no secret that I have been the target of vicious attacks by people who sought to diminish my many achievements lifting up the working people of Illinois,” he wrote. “The fact is, my motivation for holding elected office has never wavered. I have been resolute in my dedication to public service and integrity, always acting in the interest of the people of Illinois.”
We’ll see how well that selfassessment holds up, not only in light of the ongoing federal probe into efforts to bribe him (he says he did nothing wrong and has not been charged) but also in light of the cascading budget problems that he has left for his successors to address.
They, too, should keep their eyes on the distant horizon, not on the next election.
Re: Tweets
Speaking of poor obituary management … The winner of this week’s reader poll to select the funniest tweet was “Parents, make sure your children understand the importance of integrity so they don’t grow up to be Lindsey Graham” by @itsJeffTiedrich.
The poll appears at chicago tribune.com/zorn where you can read all the finalists. For an early alert when each new poll is posted, sign up for the Change of Subject email newsletter at chicagotribune.com/newsletters.