Lane Kirkland Memorial Service

September 23, 1999

According to Jewish mythology, God preserves the world despite its sinful character because of ten just men and women who, without claiming to be just, by their very existence on this earth vindicate humanity's aspirations to dignity and honor.

Lane Kirkland was one of these. Unassuming and dedicated, he did his duty as he saw it and not for personal accolades or advancement.

The cause of freedom was his mission; social justice his cause; opposition to totalitarianism his vocation.

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A product of the World War II generation, Lane was never ambivalent about his country's worth or about America's indispensable role in resisting totalitarianism. He emphatically rejected--indeed, he could not understand--the tendency to use America's imperfections as an alibi for withdrawal from the world. Though his actions were most visible in the battle for freedom in Poland, they were equally intense, if not so dramatic, in every part of the world within reach of the American labor movement and of himself as an individual.

I met Lane when, in the company of George Meany, he set about instructing the Nixon Administration on the importance of standing

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his scorn. Early in the Reagan Administration, I arranged a dinner between Lane and Jim Baker and Michael Deaver at which the spokesmen of the "evil empire" administration were being castigated--to their extreme shock--for not living up to its rhetoric over Poland.

This did not keep President Reagan from appointing Lane in 1983 to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America which I chaired; it probably gave him a motive for doing so. Lane was instrumental in shaping a report containing the classic Kirkland philosophy, which also happened to coincide with administration policy: a political

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program insisting on social justice and
democracy built on the bedrock of militant
opposition to totalitarianism.

The report also provided an occasion which,
to me, symbolized Lane Kirkland. In the
course of the drafting process, one of the
commissioners strove for a formula to salve
his relationship with associates on the
outside likely to disapprove our consensus by
inserting an ambiguous footnote. I deployed
complex arguments in opposition. My academic
eloquence proved in vain until, after an hour,
Lane looked up from his doodles and growled:
"I don't think you want to do a second-rate
thing like this." It turned out the

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recalcitrant did not.

Lane's friends were strengthened by his fortitude and sustained by his capacity for matter-of-fact affection. He adored his wife, loved his country, and supported the oppressed wherever his influence could reach.

I saw Lane for the last time three days before he died. I had come to his home from the White House where President Clinton had awarded the Medal of Freedom to President Ford and others. Fiercely guarded by his beloved long-haired dachshund Melanie at his side on the bed, Lane wanted to hear every detail. To him, the White House was ever a special symbol of America and, as a recipient of the Medal

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himself, he took particular pleasure in the
award to Evelyn Dubrow, a former official of
the International Ladies Garment Workers
syndicate, his life-long member.
Union. Irena had warned me that Lane was weak
and getting weaker but, with extraordinary
willpower, he managed to act almost as the
Lane I had known by now for three decades--so
much so that, as I was leaving, I permitted
myself to express the hope that we might have
Thanksgiving dinner together. "You know we
all need you," I said. "I am a fighter," Lane
replied.

He did not quite make it and yet he did.
None of us whose lives he touched will ever be
quite the same. We will all aim a little

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September 23, 1999

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I met Lane when, in the company of George Meany, he set about instructing the Nixon Administration on the importance of standing up to Communism. It was not what we were used to hearing from his side of the then political barricades which, at the time, generally castigated us for being too inflexible. But it soon became apparent that we worked two sides of the same street even when we differed as to tactical necessities.

Lane and I became close friends, as did our wives.

Thanksgiving dinners together were an annual ritual, and we

met and talked many times in between. For Nancy and me, a
family gathering was incomplete without the Kirklands.

Where national values were concerned, Lane was fiercely
bipartisan in his support and in his scorn. Early in the
Reagan Administration, I arranged a dinner between Lane and
Jim Baker and Michael Deaver at which the spokesmen of the
"evil empire" administration were being castigated--to their
extreme shock--for not living up to its rhetoric over Poland.

This did not keep President Reagan from appointing Lane
in 1983 to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central
America which I chaired; it probably gave him a motive for
doing so. Lane was instrumental in shaping a report
containing the classic Kirkland philosophy, which also
happened to coincide with administration policy: a political
program insisting on social justice and democracy built on the
bedrock of militant opposition to totalitarianism.

4

The report also provided an occasion which, to me, symbolized Lane Kirkland. In the course of the drafting process, one of the commissioners strove for a formula to salve his relationship with associates on the outside likely to disapprove our consensus by inserting an ambiguous footnote. I deployed complex arguments in opposition. My academic eloquence proved in vain until, after an hour, Lane looked up from his doodles and growled: "I don't think you want to do a second-rate thing like this." It turned out the recalcitrant did not.

Clinton had awarded the Medal of Freedom to President Ford and others. Fiercely guarded by his beloved long-haired dachshund Melanie at his side on the bed, Lane wanted to hear every detail. To him, the White House was ever a special symbol of America and, as a recipient of the Medal himself, he took particular pleasure in the award to Evelyn Dubrow, a former official of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

He did not quite make it and yet he did. None of us whose lives he touched will ever be quite the same. We will all aim a little higher for having known him. It was a

SEP-22-1999 11:03

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9/21/99-#4

According to Jewish mythology, God preserves the world despite its sinful character because of ten just men and women who, without claiming to be just, by their very existence on this earth vindicate humanity's aspirations to dignity and honor. Lane Kirkland was one of these. ~~Humble, unassuming and dedicated, he did his duty as he saw it and not for personal accolades or advancement. The cause of freedom was his mission; social justice his cause; opposition to totalitarianism his vocation.~~

A product of the World War II generation, Lane never knew ~~any ambiguity~~ about his country's worth or about America's indispensable role in resisting totalitarianism. He emphatically rejected--indeed, he could not understand--the

SEP-22-1999 11:03

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tendency to use America's imperfections as an alibi for withdrawal from the world. He thought the cause of freedom to be indivisible, and he saw America as a beacon for the oppressed. Though his actions were most visible in the battle for freedom in Poland, they were equally intense, if not so dramatic, in every part of the world within reach of the American labor movement and of himself as an individual.

SEP-22-1999 11:04

P.05/06

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I saw him for the last time three days before he died. I had come to his home from the White House where President Clinton had awarded the Medal of Freedom to President Ford and others. To Lane, the White House was ever a special symbol of America and, as a recipient of the Medal himself, he wanted to hear every detail, take particular pleasure in the award to Ford and to Evelyn Dubrow, a former official of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Irena had warned me that Lane was weak and getting weaker but, with extraordinary willpower, he managed to act almost as the Lane I had known by now for three decades, fiercely guarded by his beloved long-haired dachshund Melanie at his side on the bed.

As I was leaving, I permitted myself to express the hope that we might have Thanksgiving dinner together. "You know we all need you," I said. "I am a fighter," Lane replied.

SEP-22-1999 11:04

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He did not quite make it and yet he did. None of us
whose lives he touched will ever be quite the same. We will
all aim a little higher for having known him. It was a
privilege to be his contemporary and an honor to be his
friend.

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TOTAL P.06

SEP-21-1999 15:34

KAI DC

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9/21/99-#4

According to Jewish mythology, God preserves the world despite its sinful character because of ten just men and women who, without claiming to be just, by their very existence on this earth vindicate humanity's aspirations to dignity and honor. Lane Kirkland was one of these. Humble, unassuming, dedicated, he did his duty as he saw it and not for personal accolades or advancement. The cause of freedom was his mission; social justice his cause; opposition to totalitarianism his vocation.

A product of the World War II generation, Lane never knew any ambiguity about his country's worth or about America's indispensable role in resisting totalitarianism. He emphatically rejected--indeed, he could not understand--the

SEP-21-1999 15:34

KAI DC

212 753 7248

P.02

[Y]

2

SEP-21-1999 15:34

KAI DC

212 753 7248

[Y]

In 1983, President Reagan appointed Lane to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America which I chaired. He became a principal in shaping a report containing the classic Kirkland philosophy, which also happened to coincide with administration policy: tough opposition to totalitarianism in the name of a forward-looking program calling for social justice and democracy on the ground.

SEP-21-1999 15:34

KAI DC

212 753 7248 P.04

[Y]

The report also provided the occasion for an act which,
in my mind, symbolized Lane Kirkland. In the course of the
drafting process, one of the commissioners strove for a
formula to salve his relationship with associates on the
outside likely to disapprove our consensus by inserting an
ambiguous footnote. I deployed complex arguments in
opposition. My academic eloquence proved in vain until, after
an hour, Lane looked up from his doodles and growled: "I
don't think you want to do a second-rate thing like this." It
turned out the recalcitrant did not.

Lane was a fierce opponent of the second-rate whose
friends were strengthened by his fortitude and sustained by
his capacity for matter-of-fact affection. He adored his
wife, loved his country, and supported the oppressed because
that is what he thought the vocation of his country was.

SEP-21-1999 15:34

KAI DC

212 753 7248

P.05

[Y]

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I saw him for the last time three days before he died. I had come to his home from the White House where President Clinton had awarded the Medal of Freedom to President Ford and others. To Lane, the White House was ever a special symbol of America and, as a recipient of the Medal himself, he wanted to hear every detail, taking particular pleasure in the award to Ford and to Evelyn Dubrow, a former official of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Irena had warned me that Lane was weak and getting weaker but, with extraordinary willpower, he managed to act almost as the Lane I had known by now for three decades, fiercely guarded by his beloved long-haired dachshund Melanie at his side on the bed. As I was leaving, I permitted myself to express the hope that we might have Thanksgiving dinner together. "You know we all need you," I said. "I am a fighter," Lane replied.

SEP-21-1999 15:35

KAI DC

212 753 7248 P.06

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