Charles A. Reich’s 1970 best-selling book, “The Greening of America,” a paean to 1960s liberalism, never much took root in conservative Georgia. Yet the converse of its title aptly describes Georgia state government today: “The Browning of Georgia.”
“Browning” in the sense of the fading of growth. For decades there wasa “greening” of Georgia, beginning with those same 1960s, precipitated by the progressive policies of governors Ernest Vandiver and Carl Sanders, Atlanta mayors William Hartsfield, Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson, and continued under a succession of moderate, pro-growth governors.
That era of vibrant state government leadership has passed in Georgia. The root causes of Georgia’s erstwhile “greening” are clear:
* Embracing greater respect for civil rights and racial inclusiveness, even during segregation, than seen in other Southern states. As historian Numan V. Bartley put it: That assured Georgia less “aimless violence than did numerous other states.”
* Supporting education, starting with keeping the public schools and university system open against the cacophony of calls for reactionary closings in defiance of federal integration orders.
* Creating Atlanta’s airport and a first-rate statewide transportation system, yielding an economic advantage over other Southern states.
* Maintaining a generally higher level of governmental ethics than many other states, thus avoiding major scandals that plagued some states.
The results of that era’s leadership are, likewise, incontrovertible: Georgia leaped forward from the 1960s through the 1990s. Its per capita income and state budget outpaced other Southern states. It became the ninth most-populous in the land. Business, industry and education flourished. Atlanta became the pearl of Southern cities. Major league sports, Super Bowls, and the Centennial Olympic Games followed.
Sadly,in the last decade, Georgia’s “leaders” have jettisoned that wise counsel and courage from the past in favor of a harsher tone and regressive retrenchment.
* Replacing inclusiveness with exclusion that marginalizes those of a different ethnicity and heritage, masked as “immigration reform.”
* Imposing, even pre-recession, an unrelenting reduction of funding and support for public education, wreaking near-crippling results.
* Falling behind in transportation, including postponing decisions, and then abdicating to regional plebiscites which largely were defeated.
* Eviscerating and underfunding the State Ethics Commission while ethical violations and lobbyist gifts abound.
The results? Stymied growth. Lost competitiveness.
Vision matters. It has as far back as the Biblical admonition three millennia ago that without it, “the people perish.” Fear kills vision. Top Georgia officials today exude fear of the repercussions of leading. They prefer cautious care-taking.
One wonders:
When might we see a return to some semblance of Georgia’s unique colonial founding as a sanctuary of sensibility, a “refuge” which “was not created simply to be” like other Southern colonies, as historian Phinizy Spalding observed.
When will the state motto of “Wisdom, Justice, Moderation,” be more than mere words?
When is the last time we heard any Georgia leader truly inspire and challenge us to greatness?
When will we see the “greening” of Georgia again?
