Opinion | Glenn Close: We Hold Our Leaders Accountable

[ad_1]

In the Editor:

Re “What Ford’s Pardon of Nixon Means (and Doesn’t Mean) for Trump,” by Garrett M. Graff (Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, Feb. 20):

As a working artist, I try to find the good in the villains and the darkness in the heroes. However, on TV, when I was growing up in the 1950s, there were only good guys or bad guys. The good guys always win.

It’s a natural transition from believing in good guys on TV to believing in good guys in government. Naive, yes, but after World War II, didn’t the free world think of the United States as the good guy? That’s what we were told and that’s what we believed.

Then came the ’70s and Watergate. We watched as the mask was slowly, painfully and inevitably removed from the face of our president and his henchmen. Not all our leaders are good people. In reality, they can be corrupt, ruthless and power hungry.

When Nixon climbed the steps of the helicopter after resigning, I said, loudly: “Please say something! Please acknowledge and apologize for what you put us through.”

Nixon turned, gave the victory sign and was gone. I felt a strong punch. Surely, millions of others felt the same way. Nixon was pardoned, and the gut punch to our body politic became a fiery cynicism about our leaders, which has only grown in the years since.

Nixon should be held accountable. And so should Donald Trump. Another gut punch could be fatal.

Glenn CloseBozeman, Mont.

[ad_2]