Liberalism continues its slide into absurdity and mayhem. At minimum, it has betrayed the honorable ambitions of many of its yesteryear adherents. Millions of old-line liberals would be shocked by the amorality and maliciousness of today’s self-proclaimed progressives.
In previous columns, I applauded the genuine goodness of my uncle Milton Tarriff and the practical courage of my colleague Noel Martlock. Today I honor the integrity of my friend Vasilli Economopoulos. Like the previous two, his admirable example is sorely missed.
Vasilli and I both taught sociology at Kennesaw State University. Indeed, for many years his office was across from mine and so we had unending conversations about scientific and political issues. Although our disagreements sometimes got intense, they were never angry.
Few people were as well loved, or good, as Vasilli. This one time KSU teacher of the year possessed a fractured sense of humor and civilized compassion. Always supportive of others, his students regularly sought out his advice. If they came with children, these youngsters also went home with candy and a toy.
Several times a year, Vasilli and I drove to professional conferences together. These trips began with lively partisan debates, but quickly developed into songfests. Since neither of us was capable of remembering lyrics, as a church cantor, he would eventually sing passages from the Greek Orthodox liturgy.
All of this is noteworthy, as was the fact that he walked on one leg because the other had been blown off by a bomb while he was a child in wartime Greece. More significant was his staunch honesty. Never a man to steer away from hard truths, neither did he use them as a cudgel.
So let me tell you a story. One day Vasilli and I were discussing the merits of the controversial book The Bell Curve. Was it or was it not racist? When we got bogged down in minutia, I asked if he had read the work. As it happened, I had, whereas he had not. My observation of his lack of direct knowledge pretty much ended the conversation.
About three months later, we were having a discussion about different book. This time the shoe was on the other foot. Now it was Vasilli who asked me if I had read it. I swallowed very hard and admitted I had not, fully expecting to be chided for my ignorance.
But nothing happened. Had Vasilli not noticed? Had he missed this opportunity to even the score? At the time, I did not know. Several months later, however, I found out. He had not missed my admission, but intentionally chose not to take advantage of it.
The reason was pure Vasilli. He explained that because I did not have to disclose my breach, he was not going to exploit my honesty. As a man who believed in truthfulness, he was not about to punish an instance of it.
How often do we encounter this sort of forbearance? How often do people refuse to score a gotcha win because they want to reward moral behavior? In my experience, most folks don’t pass up such chances. Coming out on top counts for more than an anonymous act of decency.
Relate this to contemporary standards. Many folks claim to be honest, but far fewer live by this code. Today, especially in politics, lies are strung together like pearls on a necklace. They come in such cosmic numbers that it is difficult to separate one from another.
It is not merely that liberals tell multiple lies, or do so with insouciance; it is also that they are untroubled when their allies tell whoppers. Even if they are personally honest, they do not object to deceitful associates. As long as this allows them to get a leg up on the opposition, they are prepared to gloat.
At this point, I am sure my liberal readers will be saying that conservatives lie even more. Perhaps. Yet I know that Vasilli would not join in the name-calling. He would take no comfort in other’s dishonesty if he were not himself straightforward.
A resort to duplicity has become so ubiquitous that few are currently scandalized by its presence. As the young are wont to observe, “everyone lies and everyone cheats.” This, they believe, is not cynicism, but realism.
Not so for Vasilli or me. We belonged to a different era when righteous liberals and conservatives could meet on principled terms. Although we differed politically, we shared a common allegiance to ethical standards. Not only that, but we acknowledged this commitment in each other.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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