Arnest's Unpublished Introductions
The following is an introduction written by the artist in preparation for a book which was never published. His preoccupation with words relates to a consequence of these events that Arnest found particularly troubling: the public's loss of trust in the state and its institutions.
Arnest provided quotations primarily from the Nixon administration, presumably for front matter for the book. They appear as the artist intended below. The author provides citations for each quotation, with occasional context added.
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These drawings are a consequence of seeing, hearing, and reading the news of our public affairs. These are events in which the proportion of deception seems always to increase. Not only are we presented with lies but more and more we come to accept them, until being deceived is almost a convention, a custom we are used to.
Along with this, our language is degraded with euphemism and cant. Even plain speech is made suspect. Most of the quotations which follow are the words of high-level government officials. Some sound clear and straightforward—and are not. Some are false, some are hypocritical or self-serving, some are savage. The drawings do not illustrate these particular words (which are only a tiny sample of an endless supply) but provide a new context for them, one more appropriate to their real, though hidden, meanings.
There are 51 drawings, all 17 ½ inches on their short sides and 21 to 23½ inches on their long sides. They are done principally in ink and pencil, with small amounts of watercolor in about half the drawings.
Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth—to see it like it is and tell it like it is—to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth.1
We want to bridge the generation gap. We want to bridge the gap between the races.2
This is a great adventure. This is your finest hour.3
This is a national security matter. You stay out of that.4
Our fundamental values are under bitter and even violent attack.5
I had concentrated too much on substance and not enough on appearance.6
You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.7
The press is the enemy… a full-fledged drive should be put against the media.8
This will be an open administration, open to new ideas ... open to critics ...9
I think the networks deserve a thorough goosing.10
There is a lot of dirty work that could be done here and should be.11
What we are trying to do here is to tear down an institution.12
The decision I have announced… means that we finally have in sight the just peace we are seeking.13
The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker.14
The skeptics and isolationists… have lost the vision indispensable to great leadership.15
These are strong men, they’re compassionate men, they're good men.16
This country is going so far right you are not even going to recognize it.17
It is not too strong a statement to declare that this is the way civilizations begin to die.18
The times call for firm measures.19 We must not deal from weakness.20
It is in the national interest.21
We have world-wide obligations.22 It is wrong.23
Our greatest resource is people. He will bring us together.24
They are a bloody good bunch of killers.25
Our long national nightmare is over... here, the people rule.26
The people over there are backward... they just make a mess out of everything.27
Quit making national heroes of those who steal secrets and publish them in the newspapers.28
You're doing a job. You're an expert at what you do.29
Cooperation has made us great.
But where is the evidence? What are the facts?
You can say I don't remember. You can say I can't recall.30
I shall be very lenient about amnesty.31
People have a perfect right to disagree with me.32
Do you suggest that we surrender?
When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.33
He has suffered enough.34
The system works.35
[1] Richard Nixon, “Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention,” August 8, 1968, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-accepting-the-presidential-nomination-the-republican-national-convention.
[2] Richard Nixon, “Remarks in New York City Accepting Election as the 37th President of the United States,” November 6, 1968, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-new-york-city-accepting-election-the-37th-president-the-united-states.
[3] Possibly a reference to an infamous quote from Vice President Hubert Humphrey after visiting Saigon in 1967, in which he said, “Vietnam is our greatest adventure and a wonderful one it is.” Wallace Turner, “McGovern and Humphrey Clash on War and Relief,” New York Times, May 28, 1972 https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/29/archives/mcgovern-and-humphrey-clash-on-war-and-relief-rivals-in-debate.html
[4] Assistant Attorney General Henry E. Petersen. 93rd Congress (1974). Hearings of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. Washington D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 3631. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=145092#relPageId=235.
[5] Richard Nixon, “Address at the Dedication of the Karl E. Mundt Library at General Beadle State College,” June 3, 1969, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-dedication-the-karl-e-mundt-library-general-beadle-state-college-madison-south
[6] In his autobiography, Six Crises, Richard Nixon says the cited quote in reference to his famous presidential debate against John F. Kennedy, who would go on to win the presidency. Notoriously, radio listeners largely considered Nixon the debate winner while those who watched the televised broadcast favored Kennedy. Many, including Nixon himself, attributed the discrepancy to Nixon’s tired, pale complexion during the debate. Richard Nixon, Six Crises, Doubleday & Company Inc. (Garden City, NY: 1962), 340. https://archive.org/details/sixcrisesrichard0000unse/page/340/mode/2up.
[7] U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell told civil rights leaders the cited quote early in the Nixon Administration to suggest that the administration’s rhetoric would not be aligned with its intended action, a sentiment that was meant to mollify activists but ultimately served to harm public trust in Washington. Robert Charles Smith, We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era. (SUNY Press, 1996), 267, https://books.google.com/books?id=eNrMbvyHhrIC&pg=PA267
[8] Deputy Assistant to President Richard Nixon Dwight Chapin in a memorandum to White House officials to discourage the anti-war movement. Dwight L. Chapin Papers, White House Special Files, 1969-1973. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
[9] Richard Nixon, “Statement by Nixon Pledging to 'Bring America Together',” November 6, 1968, New York Times, transcript, https://www.nytimes.com/1968/11/07/archives/transcript-of-the-statement-by-nixon-pledging-to-bring-america.html
[10] Republican Senate leader Hugh Scott on November 14, 1969. Christopher Lydon, “Burch Supports Agnew; Shift in F.C.C Role Seen; New Agency Head Says Speech Is a Warning to TV to Reform Itself Burch Backs Attack by Agnew on TV,” New York Times, November 15, 1969, https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/15/archives/burch-supports-agnew-shift-in-f-c-c-role-seen-new-agency-head-says.html.
[11] Presidential chief of staff H.R. Haldeman in a July 9, 1969 memo to press aide Jeb Magruder. In the memo, Haldeman suggests that media reflecting disagreement with American foreign policy should be discredited. Jonathan Schell, “The Time of Illusion—II: Division,” New Yorker, June 2, 1975, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1975/06/09/the-time-of-illusion-ii-division.
[12] Aide to H.R. Haldeman, Lawrence Higby, in a July 16, 1969 memo to press aide Jeb Magruder seeking to undermine NBC and Life magazine. Thomas Whiteside, “Shaking the Tree,” New Yorker, March 10, 1975, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1975/03/17/shaking-the-tree.
[13] The decision Nixon is referring to is the declaration of the “Vietnamization” policy through which the U.S. sought to gradually exit the war by empowering the South Vietnamese armed forces and withdrawing U.S. troops. Richard Nixon, “Address to the Nation on Progress Toward Peace in Vietnam”, April 20, 1970, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2476.
[14] Richard Nixon, “Inaugural Address,” January 20, 1969, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/inaugural-address-1.
[15] Richard Nixon, “Address at the Air Force Academy Commencement Exercises in Colorado Springs, Colorado,” June 4, 1969, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239334.
[16] Richard Nixon, in an announcement of his cabinet selection at the Shoreham Hotel on December 11, 1968. Robert B. Semple Jr., “Nixon Presents the New Cabinet, Pledges to Seek Peace and Unity; Emphasis on City Problems Seen,” New York Times, December 12, 1968, https://www.nytimes.com/1968/12/12/archives/nixon-presents-the-new-cabinet-pledges-to-seek-peace-and-unity-all.html
[17] U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell, quote purportedly overheard at a Women’s National Press Club cocktail party on September 16, 1970. “Mitchell Assails ‘Stupid’ Students’ New York Times, September 19, 1970, https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/19/archives/mitchell-assails-stupid-students-in-broad-attack-he-lashes-out-at.html.
[18] Richard Nixon, “Statement on Campus Disorders,” March 22, 1969, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239730.
[19] While the origin of the exact quote is unknown, Nixon said a similar quote three years later, in 1974, in an address regarding government efforts to curb inflation: “I can assure you that your Government will take firm measures…” Richard Nixon, “Address to the Nation About Inflation and the Economy,” (speech, Los Angeles, California, July 25, 1974), American Presidency Project, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/256151.
[20] This quote may be referring to the following line from Nixon’s nomination acceptance speech” “…we shall always negotiate from strength and never from weakness.” Richard Nixon, “Nomination Acceptance Address,” August 8, 1968, New York Times, TimesMachine, https://nyti.ms/4bnA6k9.
[21] Nixon appealed to the “national interest” frequently throughout his presidency to justify dubious conduct in office, making specific attribution difficult. One such example can be found in his resignation address. Richard Nixon, “Remarks on Departure From the White House,” August 8, 1974, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/256195.
[22] The Nixon administration often evoked the “world-wide obligations” of the U.S. in the context of the “Nixon Doctrine,” which described the America’s willingness to support its allies so long as they were primarily responsible for their own defense. An example can be seen the cited memorandum. Henry Kissinger, “Memorandum From the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Nixon,” Washington D.C.: Department of State Office of the Historian, October 7, 1970. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve05p2/d146.
[23] Probably part of the infamous “Cancer on the Presidency” conversation between Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, and John W. Dean III regarding demands for hush money during the Watergate scandal. OVAL 886-8, White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Washington, DC, March 21, 1973, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/trial/exhibit_12.pdf.
[24] Possibly a reference to Nixon’s campaign slogan, “Bring Us Together.” Richard Nixon, “Remarks in New York City Accepting the Election as the 37th President of the United States,” November 6, 1968, American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/345921.
[25] Gen. George Patton IV (as George S. Patton III), interview, in Hearts and Mind, directed by Peter Davis (1974; Linden, NJ: Rainbow Pictures Corp. and BBS Productions, 1991).
[26] Gerald Ford, “Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office,” August 9, 1974 American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, transcript, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/255838.
[27] A slight misquote of U.S. Navy Lt. George Coker, describing the people of Vietnam. Hearts and Mind, directed by Peter Davis (1974; Linden, NJ: Rainbow Pictures Corp. and BBS Productions, 1991).
[28] Richard Nixon, in a speech to former prisoners of war on May 24, 1973. John Herbers, “Nixon in 8th Phase of Counterattack,” New York Times, November 16, 1973, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/16/archives/nixon-in-8th-phase-of-counterattack-attacks-called-unfair-lack-of.html.
[29] Aviator Randy Floyd describing bombing operations during the Vietnam War. Hearts and Mind, directed by Peter Davis (1974; Linden, NJ: Rainbow Pictures Corp. and BBS Productions, 1991).
[30] Richard Nixon, instructions given to White House aides during the “Cancer on the Presidency” conversation to reduce risk of perjury during testimony. OVAL 886-8, White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Washington, DC, March 21, 1973, https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/forresearchers/find/tapes/watergate/trial/exhibit_12.pdf.
[31] Richard Nixon, quoted in Elizabeth Drew, “A Reporter in Washington, D.C.—III: Summer Notes,” New Yorker, July 22, 1974, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/10/28/a-reporter-in-washington-d-c-iii-summer-notes-2.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Charles Colson, quoted in Sidney Blumenthal, “Waiting for the Call,” New Yorker, January 18, 1993, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/01/25/waiting-for-the-call.
[34] Gerald Ford, quoted in Peter Milius “Ford Grants Nixon Full Pardon, Says He Has ‘Suffered Enough’,” Washington Post, September 9, 1974, ProQuest, https://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/ford-grants-nixon-full-pardon-says-he-has/docview/146143235/se-2.
[35] While many in the Nixon Administration had said some variation of this quote, Arnest was likely referencing Chief of Staff Alexander Haig in reference to Gerald Ford’s pardoning of Nixon, Quoted in Hugh Sidey, “A Loyalist’s Departure,” Time, September 30, 1974. https://time.com/vault/issue/1974-09-30/page/33/.