Partly Cloudy / 84° F
Archived Story
Empty Chairs
Published 10:15pm Monday, September 10, 2012Woman says empty seats are motivation to ‘ask first’
Never before has a single empty chair caused so much commotion and demanded so much attention as the one “pulled out” for the 2012 Presidential election.
On Aug. 30, Clint Eastwood, Hollywood tough guy, rocked the world with his “empty chair” speech at the Republican National Convention. He was there to give an endorsement speech for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney but directed questions to an empty chair and an absent President Obama.
As “follow-up” to Eastwood’s Q&A, empty chairs are making appearances all across the country as motivation for voters to “ask” before they “cast.”
“‘Eastwooding’ is what they are calling it,” said Amy Vinson of Troy. “When I first heard Clint Eastwood, I thought he was just a rambling old man. I thought he was weak and unprepared. But the more I listened, the more I realized that he spoke it all.”
Vinson said Eastwood’s “theatrics” made her realize how important it is for all Americans to “check their history” in an effort to be “informed” voters.
“We need to look back at Hitler and Germany,” she said. “We need to read and understand our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence before we cast our votes. I think that’s the message of all these empty chairs. I think it’s a patriotic message.
“And, it’s also a moral issue that we are facing here in our country. We don’t seem to be brave enough or outspoken enough to stand up for what we believe. It’s time for Christians to speak out. We’ve been silent too long.”
Vinson said it is every American’s right to vote and to speak out in support of an issue or in opposition to it.
“I think the empty chairs are encouraging people to be bold and to be brave,” she said.
“In so many different ways, the empty chairs are saying.
‘Don’t be afraid to take a stand. Stand up for what you believe. Stand up for your country. Don’t be afraid to speak out. Exercise your rights. Go to the polls and vote your convictions.’ That’s what these empty chairs are all about.”
Cry,Cry,Cry what so many Americans worked for, what so many Americans fought for, what so many Americans died for is almost gone. The USA is on the brink of economic destruction. Read-Read-Read
Report comment
I think we better brace ourselves for the inevitable.
Report comment
This thinly veiled editorial masquerading as a news article is nothing short of repugnant. With all it’s piercing bells and silent dog whistles to the faithful “Team” members and a call to arms, no less. But, you want to go there….let’s go ! What party is it, that at every turn, is trying to stifle voter participation through, ballot change, changing voting hours, voting days and the identification process ? A process that has held for all our political history. What party has brought torture to the forefront of the American culture and marred american idealism with a rational of the end justifies the means ? What party is it, that through numerous state laws, regardless of your position on immigration, has backed, “Show me your papers….. please”, or anything short of wearing an armband with an emboldened star of david emblazed upon it or rounding a race of people up for encampment ? What party professes the right to religious freedom only to rise up when someone of another faith does not meet their expectations or becomes suspicious in their eyes ? Religious freedom ceases to exist past the fringe of their own schism’s. What party decries big government and excessive spending only to increase BOTH whenever they have been voted into power ? Hitler indeed. While you’re studying Hitler’s idiosyncrasies, I suggest you research McCarthyism also. Red journalism does not become a small town newspaper, it only fortifies a small minded community and a small time newspaper.
Report comment
Would you put all that in laymen terms?
Report comment
Layman’s terms? Jj’s undies are in a bundle.
Report comment
I’m not a big fan of the elephant.
Report comment
Editorials are in the writer’s voice, not in the form of quotes from an interview. If you were a subscriber, or saw this story in print, you would know it was part of our DART series. For each Tuesday edition, reporters take turns throwing a dart at a map and their task is to drive to that street or neighborhood and find a story. In this neighborhood, there was an empty chair in a front yard with a “danger” sign on it. That’s pretty out of place, so Jaine talked to the homeowner.
Report comment
And let me add…Jaine didn’t even know what the empty chair symbolized when she saw it. She had not watched the RNC and had not seen Clint Eastwood’s speech.
Report comment