As I recover from a bad cold, I spent most of the day watching live coverage of funeral services for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. Henry Prendes.
Although I did not know Prendes personally, I was touched to the point of tears by the outpouring of love, respect, and admiration for a career police officer who answered the call of duty right to the very end. The coverage allowed viewers from home to learn more about the fallen officer as his family, the brotherhood of public safety, and everyday citizens paid their respects. Prendes was more than just a good cop, he was a human being who enriched the lives of those around him.
I was deeply moved by the dignity, precision, and decorum displayed through the memorial, from the procession through the Las Vegas Strip to the “missing man” flyover.
Update (2/8):Â Review-Journal article
The funeral took on political overtones as former President Carter said of the Kings: “It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps.� Later, he said that Hurricane Katrina showed that all are not yet equal in America.
And both Bush and his father winced as they sat behind the pulpit and heard the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., take several jabs at foreign and domestic policies.
“We know there were no weapons of mass destruction over there, but Coretta knew and we knew there are weapons of misdirection right down here,� Lowery said, complaining that were far too many in the U.S. are living in poverty and without health care insurance.
“For war, billions more, but no more for the poor,� Lowery continued, a take-off of a lyric from the song “A Time to Love� which drew a roaring standing ovation.
Bush’s father tried to defuse any political tension by joking that Lowery used to challenge him when he was president, too.
“I kept score in the Oval Office desk — Lowery 21, Bush 3,� former President George H.W. Bush said. “It wasn’t a fair fight.�
The audience showed where its allegiance lay when former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, came to the podium to wild cheers and a long standing ovation. He opened by saying that he was honored to be with the other former presidents. Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Future president!� in reference to his wife’s possible 2008 bid.
There are places for partisan attacks; funerals aren’t one of them. The Democrats on the platform at King’s obsequies should be ashamed of themselves for their blatant showboating and “Wellstoning”.
Mrs. King deserved a better farewell. Quite frankly, it should have been held at her church home, Ebenezer Baptist — located near the King Center.
(King funeral links via Sister Toldjah)
Related: Commentary from Michelle Malkin, SoCalPundit, The Anchoress, Iowa Voice, Independent Conservative, Expose the Left, Neal Boortz, and Jeff Goldstein.
I agree with you…the partisan heads showed disrespect and lost dignity in my eyes.
[...] DC Thornton gives us a tale of two funerals. [...]
I wish Jimmy Carter would quit embarassing me every time he opens his mouth. I’m from Georgia.
Why couldn’t the service just be nice? Why did they have to bring up the ENTIRE POINT OF HER AND HER HUSBAND’S LIVES, STRUGGLES AND DREAMS?
the party of vandals…
I think what I dislike about Democrats is their total lack of manners or decorum or shame. That was a……
Utterly classless…
Allow me to join the hundreds of bloggers who’ve expressed their displeasure at yet another funeral turned into a crude, classless partisan political rally. Rather than echo what others have said or point you to big name bloggers you’ve probably ……
[...] Sister Toldjah Expose The Left Pundit Review Posted on Feb 8th, 2006 @ 10:11 in Personalized | Print No Comments» [...]
Weddings and funerals: two things that should be short and to the point…
Political speeches have no place at funerals. Period.
You know, if the Democrats would get off their duffs and do something meaningful once in a while, instead of doing their incessant whining, bickering, and politicizing everything under the sun, they might be a true, fair, and organized resistance against the Repubs. I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Due to their insolence, election after election is going to go to the right, skewing the political landscape and throwing off that valuable balance between the two.
I feel estranged by both parties, because I don’t feel either of them represent me. I have many an axe to grind with both parties and resent that anyone would tell me that I have to pick either one or the other.
Yep, yet another annoying centrist who can’t pick a party and stick with it. Dispicable actions like wiretapping and throwing childish tantrums at the funerals of civil rights icons aren’t going to get me any closer to accepting the party line…
…from anyone.
“Dispicable actions like wiretapping”
Yes, it was despicable of the Democrats in the Johnson Adminstration (along with Ted Kennedy’s older brother Robert) to wiretap MLK, and it was despicable of Nixon to authorize wiretaps during Watergate. I will agree with you that wiretapping law-abiding citizens is uncool.
However, I have no problem with the Bush administration spying on terrorists. I guess somebody in the White House watches “24″; thank goodness for that.
For the record, I’m not much of a partisan myself. In fact, I’m more critical of the Republicans than I am of the Democrats. I don’t toe lines very well AFAIK, but that’s another conversation…
Wellstone II.
Friday’s Best…
DC Thornton: A Tale of Two Funerals…
Two comments out of a 6 hour service.
*SIGH*