On
September 27th, Frank Wills died after a long battle with brain
cancer. He was 52. If you don't remember who Frank Wills was,
you're not alone.
Wills had
his 15 minutes of fame, based on his discovering the famous taped
door at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, on the night
of June 17, 1972. This security guard's call to the police led
to the arrest of the five "burglars," prison terms for
several high government officials, and the resignation of President
Richard Nixon.
It is worth
noting that although much investigation went on via numerous agencies,
as well as the ridiculously over-hyped Woodward and Bernstein
efforts, there would have been no "Watergate" at all,
if it weren't for Frank Wills.
Aside from
a few interviews, honoraria, and playing himself in All the President's
Men (1976), Wills' life was pretty rotten. He died young, in abject
poverty.
Maybe he expected
to cash in on his fame, but he couldn't even get hired for small-time
jobs. Maybe his attitude wasn't the greatest, but he couldn't
overcome the stigma. He was the bearer of bad tidings, and although
he wasn't killed on the spot--the way they did it in ancient times--he
died the slower death of a thousand cuts.
Denial, it
is said, is more than a river in Egypt. It's a way of life for
many of us. And, when someone makes us face the cold, hard facts
in any situation, how much easier it is to attack the messenger!
If Wills had
not done his job, life would have gone on, Nixon would have served
out his second term, people would have been less cynical about
government, and the elite media would have far less influence.
Indeed, things would have been a whole lot smoother.
So, if you
needed a single person to blame for all the changes, blame Frank
Wills. Naturally, much of this was subliminal, but the effect
to him was the same as if he were attacked overtly. Who would
want to hire this guy?
Breaking the
veil of denial is dangerous. So many things are better left unsaid.
Why cause trouble? Why stick your neck out?
Some years
ago, my son was in a large youth soccer league. Each weekend,
a busy snack bar took in hundreds of dollars, in payment for food
items, many of which were donated. Yet, the league was always
broke. And, the league commissioner, of relatively modest means,
took frequent trips to Hawaii with his wife.
Dozens of
people in the league were aware of this situation, but nothing
was ever done about it.
As I was to
find out later, many youth sports leagues are victims of extortion.
In one case, involving over a million dollars, the perp fled to
South America.
Persian rulers
of a bygone era slew the messengers who told them of defeat, the
Israelites killed their prophets, and government and corporate
whistle-blowers are ostracized, if not fired. Anything to perpetuate
the status quo.
For those
who got rich off Watergate--and there were many--you can't name
one who thought of helping Frank Wills. Far better to be in denial,
forgetting that he even existed, thus maintaining the illusion
that they themselves created the source of their wealth and fame.