Three is a Magic Number – Perception affects Biden pardon, Superintendent’s departure, and a look at Okefenokee
Three is a Magic Number by Steven Uhles
Perception is reality. The way we see things – be it the physical world or the actions that shape it – become what we believe. Those perceptions are not always correct, nor are they always incorrect. Still, perception feeds, fuels and, sometimes, inflames our opinions on what is right and what is wrong.
This week’s Magic Three features three stories about perception. They all deal with how we see things, how we respond to the things we see, and how important gauging and responsibly responding to perception is.
A father’s dilemma
I understand why President Joe Biden has chosen to pardon his son Hunter, wiping clean a slate of legal troubles that go back years. I am, after all, a father to a son. I would do almost anything to protect and defend him and his sister. It’s paternal instinct.
I am not, however, the president.
And while every father bears a certain responsibility to his children, every president is elected with the understanding that their primary duty – as painful as it may be – is to the country they have promised to serve. That means agreeing to a transparent life, adhering to the rules and regulations associated with the office, and understanding that the office will always require difficult decisions.
I understand that it would have been very difficult for President Biden to watch his son go to prison. It would, in fact, be another difficult chapter in a life filled with personal pain. The president has seen a son, a daughter, and a wife die tragically. To stand by and watch his remaining son’s life end – metaphorically speaking – must feel monstrous. That’s a reason, but not an excuse. Long before he was president, or even vice president, he was the father of a son who publicly struggled. That it came to this cannot have been a complete surprise. It certainly played into his promise not to pardon Hunter Biden while on the campaign trail.
Bear this in mind, however. When President Biden leaves the White House, he is also, in all probability, leaving his political life behind as well. He has no need to continue building equity on either side of the aisle. He can do and say as he pleases, and the only real damage done will be to his reputation and place in history. It does, however, set a certain precedent in terms of presidential pardon power that could prove troubling moving forward.
Clearly, those ideas and ideals, at this point in his life, are less precious to him than protecting his family. Faulty logic? Certainly, but it is tough to fight against that paternal instinct.
As wrong as this presidential pardon feels, it is easy to identify – and perhaps even sympathize – with President Biden. He is a father and, I suppose, acting like one.
Which is more than can be said for Hunter Biden.
Here is the thing. Hunter Biden pled guilty on tax and gun charges. He said he did it. He admitted it and then he let his father take the fall for him. President Biden is acting like a father. Hunter Biden is not acting like a son. Where is his respect for his father’s legacy? Where is his sense of responsibility for his own wrongdoing? By allowing his father to exercise this very particular presidential power, he is diminishing his family and the office of the president. This is the moment for Hunter Biden to take responsibility for his actions. It is the moment he (finally) becomes an adult. It’s time for him to be his father’s son.
But I’m not holding my breath.
Timing is everything
The press release came in late, too late, in fact, to be part of any convenient news cycle. Richmond County School Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Bradshaw announced he would resign his post and the end of the year. In his statement, he said “I believe now is the right time to step away to be closer to the Atlanta metropolitan area and my family.”
Well, timing is everything. The timing of the release. The timing of the resignation – three weeks before Christmas and fewer before students leave the schools. The notice he gave wouldn’t be appropriate if he were an assistant manager working in retail, or perhaps an accountant leaving his firm with one less number cruncher as the tax season approaches. It’s less appropriate for a leader tasked with leading a famously complex school system.
Not great timing.
It should be noted that Dr. Bradshaw’s tenure with RCSD has been, for the most part, recognized as successful. While he was at the helm graduation rates climbed, as did educator salaries. He was instrumental in the collaborative establishment of the Junior Achievement Discovery Center with the Columbia County School District and increasing his district’s bond rating and general fund. He was successful.
So why, I wonder, the sudden and badly timed departure? Why now? Why so abruptly? While I do not believe his sudden departure is in any way connected to malfeasance, I do believe those who seek controversy have been handed a lit match and some dry tinder. Whether he is leaving under his own accord – which I believe – or escaping before some hidden truth is revealed is immaterial. The way he has managed this departure will generate discussion and, in turn, tarnish some of the outstanding work he has done here.
Again, it comes down to timing.
I do not believe Dr. Bradshaw’s departure is equivalent to sneaking out the back door before anyone notices you are gone. I do believe it could, and should, have been done in a more professional manner. I also believe, either initially or in retrospect, he knows this to be true. I wish Dr. Bradshaw safe travels.
I also wish his timing had been better.
Step inside for the natural world
It’s a cliché, the idea of a picture being worth a thousand words. It’s a phrase bandied about with such ease that it has lost all meaning. It’s just something people say.
But sometimes, when the images are just right, it’s true.
I’ve long been a fan of photographer Mark Albertin’s landscape work. I find his ability to expose both the scope and fragility of places – particularly those that feel untouched – remarkable and inspiring. The dichotomy he captures in a single stolen moment would take me, well, a thousand words.
So, I’m excited to see his long relationship with the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge bearing fruit. An exhibition of his black-and-white photographs, focusing on the Okefenokee and its environs, opened Friday at CANDL Fine Art on Broad Street. The exhibition is a sequel, of sorts, to his 2022 documentary “Sacred Waters – The Okefenokee in Peril” and previews his book “The Sacred Waters of the Okefenokee” slated for a spring 2025 release.
This is exactly the kind of exhibition – local, meaningful, beautiful – that I love seeing coming out of Augusta’s creative community. It’s a testament to the vision and seriousness of intent that marks the work of so much of our local talent.