Life Of Jason

I’ve been taking in the fallout of the Arena Site situation with the City Council and I’ve really begun to wonder about some pockets of our community and their continual negative comments toward John Q. Hammons.  I really didn’t know much about the man before the situation other than the things you would hear on talk radio or read in the newspaper but it seems to be that John Q. Hammons is not a man that really should be held up for the level of scorn that is coming his direction.

Here is John Q. Hammons…a man that didn’t grow up rich.   He went to junior college and then Southwest Missouri Teacher’s College (now MSU) and  taught for a few years before World War II changed his life as it did so many others.  He took a job with a construction company and saved his money to invest in the stock market and began to amass his fortune.  He went on to develop his very successful company and in the process helped bring things to our community like Hammons Field, the new arena at MSU and many other landmarks.  The hospitals have all benefited from his donations.  There is a solid track record showing that John Q. Hammons has given back a lot to his community.

I hear critics insulting him for the statue of himself along John Q. Hammons Parkway.  They’ll deride the fact his name is on buildings or streets.  What’s so wrong with that?  The man has earned the right to do it through his business acumen and wisdom.  If he wants to name a building after himself or his wife or the Easter Bunny he’s earned the right to do it.

Critics will say that John Q. Hammons gets unfair advantages in projects in the City of Springfield and southwest Missouri because of his money and influence.  Again, I ask, what’s so wrong with that?  If the man built his business and did so in a way that he set himself up for other business advantages then that’s just simply good business.   He was smart enough to look a year, five years, ten years down the road when those around him was focused only on the here and now.  I don’t think a man should be held up for scorn because he simply knows business better than many others in his field.

His critics almost remind me of kids in junior high school who always pick on and make fun of the “smart kids.”  They do whatever they can to socially ostracize those children into being less “smart” and not work as hard to excel so that it doesn’t make the other kids look as bad when they don’t work hard for good grades.   In this case, it’s the guy who made himself a millionaire many times over who is having flaming arrows shot in his direction because he dares to use his business sense to the best of his ability and he’s succeeding in ways that many people can only dream.

Finally, the part that confuses me the most about John Q. Hammons critics is that the majority seem to be self-identifying as “conservative” or “Republicans.”  Isn’t the core of the conservative Republican belief system that we as a people should take personal responsibility for our actions and how we go through life and work hard to make our lives better for ourselves, our families and ultimately our communities?  Doesn’t a true conservative think that a businessman playing with the rules given to him by the governmental officials should do whatever they can to be successful?  Of course!  The goal of all of us is that better life for our families while doing things to make the community better for everyone.  You cannot say that John Q. Hammons hasn’t done exactly that.   Maybe that’s why he’s receiving so much scorn from some pockets of our community…he’s doing what they want to be doing but can’t do it themselves.

Now, I can see the nasty e-mails and comments already coming from some corners of the town.  I’ll be vilified as blind or naive or a puppet of Hammons and the city.   I’ve never met John Q. Hammons and likely never will because I don’t see “John Q. Hammons Local Blogger Day” happening at University Plaza any time soon.  I am just trying to take an objective look at the situation, step back from the heated rhetoric and see what has solid ground and what’s just built on shaking sand.  I just can’t see any basis for the anti-Hammons attitude that many are displaying around the community right now.  It’s just not there.  I’m sorry if that makes some of you mad but until I see proof that John Q. Hammons isn’t a major asset to this community I can’t sit there and pretend the bashers of him have valid points.