Do-Gooders of the World, Unite!

WHILE the attention of the nation was fixed on Colin Powell, President Clinton, and the three former Presidents here for the volunteerism summit, I headed a few blocks down the street for the “People’s Summit,” with featured guests Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, and Ramsey Clark. Now there’s some real history for you. Presidents and four-star generals, they are as the flies of a summer. But Jackson, Gregory, and Clark-they are forever.

I never did find Ramsey Clark-he must have had prior protest commitments elsewhere-but there was good ol’ Dick Gregory, angry and indignant. Angry at Clinton for chumming it up with “corporate America.” Angry over the abandonment of the poor by Democrats. Scornful of this “sham” of a summit for rich do-gooders while the real problems in America went unaddressed. All those fasts over the years have left Gregory with an impressive air. With hair combed straight back, a grey, Biblical-looking beard, white shirt and black pinstripe suit, and generally manly bearing, he’s a throwback from a time when protestors still looked dignified. These kids today in their open shirts, torn denims, and Nikes-what do they know about rabble-rousing?

About the Author

Matthew Scully

Matthew Scully is the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. He served as literary editor of National Review and as a senior speechwriter to President George W. Bush.

Featured Tags

WHILE the attention of the nation was fixed on Colin Powell, President Clinton, and the three former Presidents here for the volunteerism summit, I headed a few blocks down the street for the “People’s Summit,” with featured guests Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, and Ramsey Clark. Now there’s some real history for you. Presidents and four-star generals, they are as the flies of a summer. But Jackson, Gregory, and Clark-they are forever.

I never did find Ramsey Clark-he must have had prior protest commitments elsewhere-but there was good ol’ Dick Gregory, angry and indignant. Angry at Clinton for chumming it up with “corporate America.” Angry over the abandonment of the poor by Democrats. Scornful of this “sham” of a summit for rich do-gooders while the real problems in America went unaddressed. All those fasts over the years have left Gregory with an impressive air. With hair combed straight back, a grey, Biblical-looking beard, white shirt and black pinstripe suit, and generally manly bearing, he’s a throwback from a time when protestors still looked dignified. These kids today in their open shirts, torn denims, and Nikes-what do they know about rabble-rousing?

About the Author

Matthew Scully

Matthew Scully is the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. He served as literary editor of National Review and as a senior speechwriter to President George W. Bush.