They are a useless political tool on par with the ribbon cutting ceremony and the midnight pardon; that's right boys and girls, we're talking about proclamations! Those glorified press releases with a raised government seal and more "Whereas" lingo than you can shake a ceremonial quill at. But just how prevalent are these little nuggets of recognition for everything from clowns to Arthur Fonzarelli, and why do some people seem to take them so seriously?
"This is a time honored tradition in American politics," University of Wisconsin political science professor David Canon recently told the Manitowoc Herald Times-Reporter. "Congress does this all the time, too. It's just something that political leaders like to do, to either recognize certain individuals or groups that are doing good things, to raise public awareness about a problem like a disease or just make a nice gesture to a group you want to support, like amateur radio operators. A cost-free way to make people feel good."
Canon's last point is the one to take note of. Proclamations are a lot of things; they can be silly or touching, well deserved or unnecessary, but above all else they are one thing...cheap. A one page proclamation and a 20-minute press conference at the state house can give a worthy cause plenty of mileage.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear recently declared February 28th "Rare Disease Day" in the bluegrass state. When asked what good the Governor's proclamation could possibly do, Deputy Director of Correspondence Elizabeth Miller told the Herald-Times Reporter: "It helps [groups] raise awareness. When we issue a proclamation, they can put out a press release about it."
Some might read that and shrug, but when the issue is awareness of a rare and potentially deadly disease, there cannot be any harm in stimulating conversation about the subject. That doesn't mean that efforts for certain proclamations haven't been met with controversy, however.
Throughout the 1980's and into the early 1990's, the efforts to make Martin Luther King Jr's birthday a national holiday were met with resistance at both the state and federal level. Some concerns over the implementation of a new holiday, like Ronald Reagan's thoughts that it would simply be too expensive, were completely reasonable. Others, like Jesse Helms' assertions that King was a Marxist and Communist and unworthy of recognition, were more than slightly out of left field. The holiday eventually passed at both the federal and state level, but states such as Utah and Virginia still had trouble fully embracing it. The controversy over the King Holiday is largely forgotten in many circles, but it was an episode that inspired much debate and at least one really bad Public Enemy song.
More recently, a group called the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project undertook an effort to have all 50 states declare February 6th "Ronald Reagan Day." Of the 50 Governors contacted, 19 declined to give The Gipper his day. Project chairman Grover Norquist -- yes that Grover Norquist, -- found the failure of 19 Governors to properly honor Dutch "a little disappointing." Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, decided not to partake in the Reagan festivities too. His spokesman told the Herald Times-Reporter the Reagan Day efforts "just didn't meet the criteria [for a proclamation]. It was something we opted not to do."
Norquist, who is most famous for despising government involvement in just about anything, was disappointed enough in Doyle and 18 of his colleague's decision not to unilaterally use their executive power to declare a new holiday that he features a list of states who have failed to sufficiently memorialize Reagan on the group's website.
So the next time you're out celebrating Tai Chi and Qigong Day or Clean Hands Week, realize that the decision to implement these cherished holidays is not one that is taken lightly by our elected officials. Or maybe it is. Don't ask me, I was out all night celebrating National Garden Month. I look forward to it every year.
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