"The business of printing has chiefly to do with men's opinions."
-- Benjamin Franklin
Though both the content and form of printing/journalism have changed considerably since Ben
Franklin's times, when printers/journalists had an intense desire to express their opinions (e.g., "The Crown
sucks!"), the essential truth of his statement about their business hasn't, except for the necessary alteration
that makes it "men's and women's opinions." Otherwise, whether on the editorial page in the print media,
broadcast editorials or "rants" on the Internet, the expressions of political, philosophical and social opinions
are still ingrained in the fabric of printing/journalism. So, weekly, at this watering hole on the
nearly deserted road toward WWW nirvana, you will get one "printer's" opinion. You will have to provide
your own requisite grain of salt to go with it. (OK, so my schedule has changed "weekly" to "as often as possible.")
Naturally, the urge to "diss" responsibly carries with it the obligation to invite other opinions.
So, I heartily invite comments and counterpoints.
All the material presented here is the copyright property of Professor Jerry Miller of Franklin College and may
not be reprinted, reproduced, or duplicated in any manner without the expressed permission of Jerry Miller.
The furor over Dale Earnhardt's death has had virtually all the elements of a presidential assassination.
An icon struck down suddenly in public view. In a 200-mph motorcade. Graphic images on film. Public grief. Public outcry. Even a conspiracy theory or two.
What it hasn't had is a Warren Commission. Because the crash that killed stock car racing's largest hero on the last lap of the Daytona 500 Feb. 18 occurred within the closed borders of NASCAR land, not the U. S. A., no blue-ribbon panel of disinterested parties has been formed to go over the evidence on behalf of the American public.
NASCAR, a closed society and absolute dictatorship with no First Amendment, no inherent notion of the public's right to know and no system of checks and balances, has put itself in charge of the investigation of the fatal racing accident. Hardly a disinterested party - trust me on this, I've covered racing as a journalist for 33 years -- NASCAR has said Earnhardt apparently died because his seat belt broke.
And maybe he did. But the seat-belt supplier, Simpson Race Products -- not exactly disinterested, either -- said otherwise. His seat belts were intact, SRP claimed, and so did the first track worker to reach Earnhardt's wrecked car.
Clearly, both sides have vested interests in the "truth" here. SRP has its reputation as the main supplier of safety equipment to uphold. NASCAR has its public image to maintain, and, some would add, a lid to keep on perhaps its dirtiest little secret, much-rumored for years, that Earnhardt chose not to wear his safety harness in the prescribed way and NASCAR let him do it because, well, he was "The Intimidator."
That is why the press, the Fourth Estate, stepped in. And needed to. Absent a Warren-type commission, the press has a fundamental duty to set up its own searchlights in an arena fogged in by smoke screens and PR spin. Think in terms of the current dueling fingers of blame in the Ford Explorer vs. Firestone dispute.
So, despite the outcry from the Earnhardt family, which was enfolded in the protective arms of NASCAR, and from stock car fans, two Florida newspapers, the Orlando Sentinel and the Independent Florida Alligator, petitioned for release of the autopsy photos. Not for publication purposes, but for examination and analysis by an independent medical expert.
The Sentinel won limited access. The Alligator is asking a court for the same privilege.
Everyone bringing either emotion or self-interest to the table has cried foul and accused the papers of everything from sensationalism to necrophilia.
Had the subject of these petitions been a U.S. president, no one would have batted a proverbial eye. They dug up Zachary Taylor after more than a century. The Warren Commission went over the Kennedy assassination evidence, including autopsy photos, with the finest-toothed comb in American history.
So, while the Earnhardt family's personal disdain for the idea is understandable, the newspapers are, as cliched as it may sound, only doing their jobs, the ones set forth in the Constitution and the American history books.
Somebody with no vested interest in the outcome has to put the sunshine back in the Sunshine State and cast an unfiltered spotlight into all the relevant corners of Volusia County. Otherwise, the truth may become the second fatality of that terrible crash against the wall in the final turn at Daytona International Speedway.
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All Copyright 2001 by Jerry Miller ©
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