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Hypocrisy,” noted attorney and law professor Alan Dershowitz says, “is not a way of getting back to the moral high ground. Pretending you’re moral, saying you’re moral, is not the same as acting morally.”
That quote came back to me when I found it just now by Googling. Hypocrisy is indeed the opposite of the moral high ground – call it the immoral low ground – and every year at this time I’m reminded just how far some politicians will go to do one thing and say another.
Case in point: N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, who probably should have had ham this holiday.
Cooper pardoned two turkeys on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving – the appropriately named Biscuit and Tater – at the annual N.C. Turkey Pardon Ceremony at the Executive Mansion. The governor was joined by Butterball President Jay Jandrain and N.C. Poultry Federation Executive Director Bob Ford, two fellows who obviously don’t have a vested interest in letting too many birds fly away.
Biscuit and Tater are 50-pound toms from Warren Farms in Clinton. They are 20 weeks old and like eating pecans, country music karaoke and watching football, according to a release, which really needed more details as to what bands the turkeys like most. After the ceremony, the turkeys plan to retire at Horsin’ Around Inc. in Spring Hope.
“Thanksgiving is a time to come together and appreciate the many blessings our families, friends and communities have to offer,” Cooper said, hoping his soft words would make people forget the hard line to come. “We’re grateful for the people who make North Carolina a stronger and safer place for all, including our educators, military service members and first responders.”
So far, so good. We’re a forgiving people, and giving a couple of thankful turkeys a chance to see tomorrow feels like the right thing do on this holiday. But there’s more.
“The holidays are also a time to remember those struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table,” Cooper said, “and I appreciate Butterball’s generous donation to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.”
And what did Butterball donate? A total of 300 turkeys. That’s right, Biscuit and Tater’s families never had a chance. The generational line stops here, with only an empty gravy bowl to remember them by.
Naturally, there was no sense of shame on the company’s side.
“Butterball is proud to be North Carolina’s largest turkey producer and a member of the state’s prominent and thriving agricultural business community. We’re happy to have two Butterball turkeys pardoned by Gov. Cooper as a symbol of the holiday,” Jandrain said. “It’s an honor that so many chose Butterball for the center of their Thanksgiving table and for everyday meals as well.”
“As we celebrate the Thanksgiving season each year, we’re proud of our N.C. Turkey industry – and especially the hard-working farm families who help raise them,” Ford said, before adding the kill shot: “N.C. continues to be ranked No. 2 in turkey production in the U.S. We have a lot to be thankful for.”
So there it is. I’ve often wondered why more turkeys don’t attempt to play hide and seek every fall, but now we know the stark truth. They have been promised a pardon, happily gobbling their way through life until it’s ripped out from under them come November.
To make it even worse, many people serve turkey with cranberry sauce, which a study by cookoutnews.com concluded was the most hated Thanksgiving Day food in our state. It’s almost enough to make you want to become a vegetarian.
Almost.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.