Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
The decency of America demands the truth
“Have you no sense of decency?”
Or, put another way, have you no shame?
That question was put to the indecent senator from Wisconsin, Joe McCarthy, by Joseph N. Welch, who represented the United States Army in 1954 when the red-baiting senator was trying his best to belittle the Army for not promoting a close, very close, friend of McCarthy’s. The friend, David Schine, was also a very close friend of Roy Cohn’s who, in turn, was a very, very close friend of our current president, Donald Trump.
The world is, indeed, quite small when it comes to attacking the American institutions that protect us, like the Army. But I digress.
The issue is one of shame. Public or private.
I very recently learned of a friend’s deep, dark family secret that caused an incredible amount of self-imposed guilt for an otherwise wonderful person who carried the shame of a past indiscretion for nearly a lifetime. Its effect was overwhelming and unrelenting.
Only recently did the story come full circle to the point where the inordinate burden of a youthful mistake was lifted ,and the person who bore the brunt of that shame for almost 60 years became something, someone, very new, very different and very happy.
My point is that none of us know the secrets even our closest friends carry and the depth of the imposition on their happiness that occurs as a result of trying to keep secrets that, in the end, will almost always become public.
I am happy for my friend. Life is suddenly beautiful at long last.
I have been thinking about the shame that was prevalent throughout that story and the secret that stayed buried for so long in the context of Professor Christine Blasey Ford’s secret that she carried for all of her adult life — until recently. Even though she tried to keep the events that caused her shame, embarrassment, pain or myriad other human emotions a secret, the truth has been bared for the world to see.
And, oh, what a truth that is! It is a truth that will affect the Supreme Court of the United States. It has the ability to shame the high court for a generation and lay bare the biases of generations of men toward women who
the game — win or lose — would provide a great memory. It would also help with development because, after all, some players had never been on a field with lines and hash marks.
Democracy surrendered a kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game, and as many suspected, was on the way to being defeated in blowout fashion. Then something magical happened — something so unexpected that Jones was left in awe. His players, many of whom won a 2A state championship last winter with the school’s basketball team, weren’t willing to roll over. They fought and clawed every play and won 12-10 — one of the biggest upsets in Las Vegas prep sports. It was even more impressive considering six Democracy players left the game with leg cramps.
“The kids shocked the hell out of me,” Jones said after the game. “Just all heart. It was something else to see.”
Jones repeatedly tells players to forget about what they don’t have — a practice field or other necessities — and to work only on what they can control, such as their effort. They quickly learned that effort alone isn’t enough: Democracy lost its next three games, scoring just 27 points.
Players could use what they lack as an excuse for the defeats, and those gripes would seemed valid. But they don’t complain. “We know we have to keep pushing to get better,” senior Vanell Meeks says. “We make do with what we have.”
Winning is personal for Jones. He grew up in Twin Lakes, a historic neighborhood west of Democracy Prep at Vegas and Rancho drives, and attended Mabel Hoggard Elementary School. He walked most days after school to play sports at Doolittle, developing a passion for competing and representing his part of Las Vegas. Everyone knows each other in this part of town and is proud to call it home, Jones says.
Democracy Prep represents his neighborhood, which is too often characterized more by those drunkenly sleeping in the park than by the accomplishments of its children. The school — which selects students “regardless of race, economic situation, special education status, nationality, previous academic record or any other characteristic” — sends nearly all of its graduates on to college. Athletes are required to maintain a 2.3 grade-point average to compete in sports, compared with the 2.0 at most other schools.
It makes the win against Coronado, a school in an affluent part of town, so important. Democracy’s players weren’t held back by the stigma of where they come from or what they don’t have. They simply played better.
“Nobody saw that coming, because people doubted us,” says Kelly Jones, the coach’s son and one of Democracy’s best players. “It goes to show you that when you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything.”