’Radical Jack Lieberman’

A man named Jack Lieberman known to many as ’Radical Jack Lieberman’ died in August 2020. He was a well known political figure Florida in the 60s and 70s. I knew him only slightly but for several years I interacted with him with regularly.
While Jack Lieberman was an FSU student in Tallahassee in the middle-late sixties, I saw him down in Gainesville at the University of Florida. During those years, as a UF student, I would walk into the main library between classes to sit and study rather than return to my dorm or in later years to my apartment.
In the front of the UF library I would sometimes encounter Radical Jack Lieberman. As I walked up the library steps Jack would approach and hand me papers. I would accept them; keep on into the library to take a seat and study. Eventually I would look over Jack’s literature and prepare to challenge him on the way out. He was usually still there so for a few moments we could argue.
I spoke to him then he would answer me, then he spoke and I answered him. There was never an interruption or a raised voice. The conversations were never very long; I had to go to class. My point is that we talked. I was short haired jock, as conservative as a college kid could get in those days and he was the opposite. I suppose it would be incorrect to say that we were ever friends but our discourse remained sincere and civil. Looking back, I actually believe that we wanted to understand each other.
Jack eventually had his public political career, lead many protests, got arrested, and got locally infamous. I got married, had kids and went into law enforcement and did not follow his later exploits. Still I always remembered those talks standing in front of the UF library. A couple of years ago I saw in the paper that he died. I had not put eyes on him in a half a century but it made me sad.
How different our American politics are today. One seldom finds a political discussion where people try to understand or enlighten each other. Discussions are more like war where one tries to leave the opponent bloody, broken and defeated. Today American politicians are harassed in restaurants and on the street. Protesters picket at politician’s and even Judge’s homes.
It sometimes feels like our country is building toward a civil war. Instead we need to just listen to each other, remember that we are all Americans and that good minds can disagree. The story of the founding of this Country is the greatest example. Our founding fathers worked-out a constitution so we can certainly find some little area of agreement on our issues. Just a little civility and good will please. It seemed so simple in the 60’s and so difficult now. Lets try that little bit of civility and see if it still works like it did in the 60s.

Note: Jack Lieberman died on 30 Aug. 2020 of COVID-19 at age 70 after being hospitalized for several weeks. He was a college student at Florida State University in the middle-late 1960s. He was known as "Radical Jack” for advocating leftist revolutionary politics.

David Frisby