by Frank James
On his "Change of Subject" blog, Eric Zorn suggests Illinoisans, and presumably Americans beyond the Land of Lincoln, stop snickering at good-government activists as "goo-goos, a put-down meant to suggest that they're idealistic, head-in-the-clouds dreamers.
An excerpt:
A 1998 Tribune article described Mayor Richard M. Daley as "recoiling" when a reporter intimated that the term applied to him. "I wouldn't say I'm a 'goo-goo,' Daley said." "It's insulting."
Yes, it is. And the fact that we accept and use it as an insult is not just a symptom of the greater problem, but also a small part of it.
The slang we use for the operation of politics as usual--"machine"--signifies power and inevitability. While the slang we use to describe aspirations for honest government--"goo-goo"--signifies weakness and failure.
It is indeed noble to aspire for clean government where bribes and pay-to-play aren't factors. And it has long bothered me, too, that those who want a government to be both efficient and clean are derided almost as naifs. I have witnessed Chicago politicians use goo-goo as a synonym for chump.
That's the kind of thinking that makes it easy for a Richard Nixon or a Rod Blagojevich to draw the lesson that politics is mostly about not getting caught.
I doubt if goo-goo can ever be turned into a term of honor. It sounds too infantile for that. But maybe we can make it the n- word of politics, a word that reflects badly on the user and not the person tagged with it.
Comments
The culture of corruption jargon, GOO GOO, is demeaning. I don’t even like whistleblower. I was called a whistleblower by members of the media when I brought evidence of corruption by the George Ryan organization to the US Attorney and later testified at the grand jury and Ryan trial. As a sworn investigator, it was my job to bring evidence of a crime to a prosecutor. I was neither a whistleblower nor a GOO GOO. I was a cop fulfilling my sworn duty.
I authored a book about my PERSONAL experience during the Ryan investigation and prosecution and I am awaiting publication. Another writer also authored books about Ryan and .Illinois corruption. He uses the demeaning term GOO GOO.
An honest working man that does the job he is suppose to do, is not a GOO GOO nor even a whistleblower, he is what we should expect and honor. Google consulthammer or www. consulthammer. Com..
Posted by: consulthammersult | February 17, 2009 1:58 PM