The lesson to be learned from the overthrow of the Heath regime is that it is indeed possible to rein in government. That is a lesson worth remembering, worth repeating, worth applying.
We are by habit and training cowed by the political thickness of government bureaucracies. Consequently, we sigh, grow more angry and frustrated - and give up, go along. That’s how we are contained by the system; it makes us simply give up.
Most of the time.
Except when along comes a leader like Ronnie Kidd who demonstrates how wrong it is to simply give up.
I suspect he was motivated by anger at the injustice of what was happening in the city where he lived. But he was smart enough to harness that anger in a constructive way, to summon self-control and strike at the problem with facts.
Astoundingly, Ronnie wielded these facts against the power of the entire community establishment, including the Advocate. The facts won, the knowledge of the injustices won.
Not that Ronnie worked alone. He would likely be the first to credit those few very dedicated and brave individuals who joined the battle, and also the businesses who offered quiet, behind-the-scenes support. But this is another lesson to be remembered: Once a leader steps forward, if that leader is believable and dedicated and has a righteous goal, others will join.
What Ronnie and his small band of Freedom Fighters won can also be won in Newark, in Licking County government, in the Statehouse, in the U.S. Capitol and White House.
That is the lesson Ronnie Kidd has taught us.
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