In Bill Daley's quest to become the third Daley to rule Chicago, he has suggested the name of the Dan Ryan expressway be changed to the Barack Obama expressway. It could be a dangerous course for Bill to take. It would mean eradicating the name of a fellow Irishman from the Chicago landscape. That would border on heresy and treason to many in the Irish community.
One of Barack Obama's supporters stated that Dan Ryan has had his day. Now it's Obama's turn. Therein lies the crux of the problem. Perhaps in 80 or 100 years from now, another political figure will rise to prominence, and Obama's name will be resigned to history's discard pile in a political flavor of the month contest.
So who was Dan Ryan and why was an expressway named after him? Well, back in the 30's, Ryan was President of the Cook County Board. You thought maybe he was some kind of hero? Nope! He was political insider with all the right connections. The expressway was named after him because the mayor at the time--Richard J. Daley-- was a fellow Irishman, political confidante and loyal Democrat. Being a party loyalist and member of the ethnic group currently in power were the primary credentials required.
Ayn Rand, the novelist and philosopher, coined a term for this self-aggrandizement and egotistical behavior of politicians. She called them "monument builders." Like the kings, queens and emperors of the past, these vainglorious holders of power love nothing more than to erect monuments to one another. In the Chicago area alone, we have expressways named after President Reagan, former governor Stevenson, President Eisenhower, former mayor Jane Burn, and of course good ole Dan Ryan. A government building in the heart of the city is named after the first mayor Daley. Then there are the plethora of schools named after Washington, Madison, Eisenhower, Lincoln, etc..
Are there individuals more deserving of these civic memorials? Fact is, mayors, governors, presidents, congress persons and bureaucrats are nothing more than glorified administrators, managers and CEO's living off of tax money expropriated from working folks. Where is their brilliance? Did Daley ever stand between a citizen and gun toting terrorist? What disease did Reagan help conquer? Did Obama ever rush into a burning building to save a child?
If public thoroughfares and structures need titles, let them be named after first responders, war heroes, medical researchers, influential educators. Let us cease creating monuments to egotistical power seekers whose only function is to control the lives of others. Let us stop dedicating monuments to bogus gods; instead, let us erect monuments to the real heroes of humanity.
