Open letter to Congressman Pickering of Mississippi

November 12, 2006 12:56 am

— I was taken by the intensity of your response to Mr. Rangel’s obviously “good-natured” insult to Mississippi. I say good-natured because I coincidentally noted that Mississippi itself has an ad campaign to address American perception that your state itself is on the bottom of so many rankings and is an unattractive place to come from or live in.
Unlike race, creed color or national origin, I did not realize that state was a protected grouping and subject to politically correct guidelines.
As a citizen of Maine, I accept the good-natured attacks that we are too cold or that it is impossible to get a good pastrami sandwich, or that America would be better off if California were to just fall into the Pacific.
The Democrats have offered Republicans an olive branch; we are in trouble if you interpret this as simply a feint before the next assault.
A good-natured retort to Mr. Rangel about the insanity of New York traffic, or a copy of Faulkner to remind him that Mississippi has been a special birthing ground for American literature, or some such response would better serve America and our need to try to move forward.
I offer this to you as a fellow American. That is what we share and should all value — even as we struggle to understand how we see different paths as to demonstrate that shared commitment.

Don Isikoff
Rockport, Maine