This one's fun -- when he was still a young man and a writer of history, Winston Churchill's attention was drawn to an American novelist named Winston Churchill. The two corresponded and even met once, when the English Churchill visited the states.
Born to a British father and an American mother, Churchill when addressing the United States Congress shortly after Pearl Harbor offered, “And by the way, I cannot help
reflecting that if my father had been American and my mother British,
instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own.”
I once saw that a person with my name on Facebook had a listing of books he liked, and I sent him a message noting the coincidence. He "friended" me and we now enjoy the confusion produced when we comment on each other's posts. Especially since he lives in New Zealand and I here in good old Oklahoma. It's really good when he wishes me a happy birthday, since it comes a day "early" for those of us on this side of the International Date Line. So it looks like I am not only the kind of narcissist who wishes myself a happy birthday, I do it on the wrong date.
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Monday, February 12, 2018
Can't Tweet This
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the
right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who
shall have born the battle and for his widow and for his orphan, to do
all that may achieve a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with
all nations."
-- Abraham Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
-- Abraham Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Who Said What?
Last night at the Republican National Convention, Melania Trump gave a speech about her husband, presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Ms. Trump is a naturalized U.S. citizen and Mr. Trump's third wife.
Initially, the speech seemed well-received, but some folks heard things they thought sounded familiar. It turns out that some parts of Ms. Trump's speech sound a lot like a speech by Michelle Obama in 2008. A hashtag has now surfaced to make fun of her and many people suggest this incident has some political importance. Several thoughts spring to mind:
1) Someone in modern media actually remembers 2008?
2) Considering that nearly 100% of modern political speeches are brim full of meaningless platitudes, does it really surprise anyone that they are being recycled? There's a difference between endless ways to say nothing and saying nothing endlessly. We live in days of the latter. You can even find a little Kindle book defining the stock phrases candidates use.
3) It would seem to me that a far more important aspect of Ms. Trump's speech was her ability to Rickroll an entire country.
4) As to political import, if there is someone out there who made up his or her mind to vote or not vote for Donald Trump based on whether or not his wife's speechwriter lacks the ability to design yet another disguise for empty boilerplate, that person is even less qualified to be president than is Mr. Trump. But no worries -- Mr. Trump would still be in a two-way tie for second.
Initially, the speech seemed well-received, but some folks heard things they thought sounded familiar. It turns out that some parts of Ms. Trump's speech sound a lot like a speech by Michelle Obama in 2008. A hashtag has now surfaced to make fun of her and many people suggest this incident has some political importance. Several thoughts spring to mind:
1) Someone in modern media actually remembers 2008?
2) Considering that nearly 100% of modern political speeches are brim full of meaningless platitudes, does it really surprise anyone that they are being recycled? There's a difference between endless ways to say nothing and saying nothing endlessly. We live in days of the latter. You can even find a little Kindle book defining the stock phrases candidates use.
3) It would seem to me that a far more important aspect of Ms. Trump's speech was her ability to Rickroll an entire country.
4) As to political import, if there is someone out there who made up his or her mind to vote or not vote for Donald Trump based on whether or not his wife's speechwriter lacks the ability to design yet another disguise for empty boilerplate, that person is even less qualified to be president than is Mr. Trump. But no worries -- Mr. Trump would still be in a two-way tie for second.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Good Words
Noting some far more relevant words than those that have been offered in this space, Daniel Hannan offers something interesting about Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered 150 years ago today.
The address is considered one of the most historically significant of our nation's history -- and not just because an elected official was called on to give a speech and kept it under 300 words, although that's Guinness-worthy in and of itself. What Lincoln said in the aftermath of a bloody battle in the war that pitted American vs. American, fighting with what could be called with only a little exaggeration the soul of the nation at stake, helped outline why he believed the seceding states were wrong and why he would shed blood to recall them.
He declared that sacrifice must inspire service, or else it is in vain, and that the sacrifice of the soldiers at Gettysburg should inspire a resolution that the founding idea of the United States -- "government of the people, by the people, for the people" -- should not "perish from this earth."
Hannan notes that Lincoln's words echo phrasing by John Wycliffe, who wrote a similar phrase describing what he believed to be the centrality of the Bible for the Christian faith -- about 135 years before Martin Luther redecorated a church door in Wittenberg. In 1382, Wycliffe published a Bible in English, during a time when translations "in the vernacular" or common language of the people, were forbidden. In the prologue of his edition he gave part of his reasoning: "This Bible is for the government of the people, for the people and by the people."
Wycliffe died of a stroke in 1384, although his opponents succeeded in having him deemed a heretic in 1415 and having his body exhumed and destroyed.
Hannan thinks it might be likely that Lincoln would have known Wycliffe's phrase, given the more widespread knowledge and familiarity with religion and religious writings during his day. There's no telling for certain, I suppose, although Lincoln was widely read as a self-taught scholar and he alluded to religious writings and beliefs often enough to suggest he read widely in them as well. The 16th president's own faith was frequently tested by the trials of his office, and reading his prayers and meditations offers a good picture of what a spirit may look like as it seeks out the shepherd's rod and staff while walking through the valley of the shadow.
Whether Lincoln knew Wycliffe's words or not, Hannan is probably right that his listeners would have recognized them more readily than people reading today, since even certain religious professionals with a much wider-than-average exposure to religious writings did not catch the allusion. I might or might not see one of them in my mirror in the morning.
And that kind of prompts its own little bout of melancholy. You may have noticed several online excitables take notice of a plaque on a building at Northeastern Illinois University that refers to Lincoln as a Democrat. Lincoln, of course, was the first Republican president, but the university notes that the word "democrat" has been used in other arenas than simple party affiliation. The plaque creators, who donated it in 1905, were very likely referring to Lincoln's egalitarian philosophy, of which the "of the people" phrase is a good description. That's not the melancholy.
The melancholy comes when some folks took a video camera to the plaque and asked students if they knew whether Lincoln was a Democrat or a Republican. See how many don't know and how many guess. We're not talking about people knowing who Martin Van Buren's running mate was (he had none -- Richard Mentor Johnson was dropped from the ticket and elected by the United States Senate, and believe me, I had to look that up). We're talking about something as basic as the party affiliation of one of the greatest presidents of the United States and quite likely one of the greatest leaders of any English-speaking nation period. And we're talking about young people pursuing knowledge in a modern American university in the state that calls itself "The Land of Lincoln" not knowing that basic information.
Who the heck will they be qualified to govern?
The address is considered one of the most historically significant of our nation's history -- and not just because an elected official was called on to give a speech and kept it under 300 words, although that's Guinness-worthy in and of itself. What Lincoln said in the aftermath of a bloody battle in the war that pitted American vs. American, fighting with what could be called with only a little exaggeration the soul of the nation at stake, helped outline why he believed the seceding states were wrong and why he would shed blood to recall them.
He declared that sacrifice must inspire service, or else it is in vain, and that the sacrifice of the soldiers at Gettysburg should inspire a resolution that the founding idea of the United States -- "government of the people, by the people, for the people" -- should not "perish from this earth."
Hannan notes that Lincoln's words echo phrasing by John Wycliffe, who wrote a similar phrase describing what he believed to be the centrality of the Bible for the Christian faith -- about 135 years before Martin Luther redecorated a church door in Wittenberg. In 1382, Wycliffe published a Bible in English, during a time when translations "in the vernacular" or common language of the people, were forbidden. In the prologue of his edition he gave part of his reasoning: "This Bible is for the government of the people, for the people and by the people."
Wycliffe died of a stroke in 1384, although his opponents succeeded in having him deemed a heretic in 1415 and having his body exhumed and destroyed.
Hannan thinks it might be likely that Lincoln would have known Wycliffe's phrase, given the more widespread knowledge and familiarity with religion and religious writings during his day. There's no telling for certain, I suppose, although Lincoln was widely read as a self-taught scholar and he alluded to religious writings and beliefs often enough to suggest he read widely in them as well. The 16th president's own faith was frequently tested by the trials of his office, and reading his prayers and meditations offers a good picture of what a spirit may look like as it seeks out the shepherd's rod and staff while walking through the valley of the shadow.
Whether Lincoln knew Wycliffe's words or not, Hannan is probably right that his listeners would have recognized them more readily than people reading today, since even certain religious professionals with a much wider-than-average exposure to religious writings did not catch the allusion. I might or might not see one of them in my mirror in the morning.
And that kind of prompts its own little bout of melancholy. You may have noticed several online excitables take notice of a plaque on a building at Northeastern Illinois University that refers to Lincoln as a Democrat. Lincoln, of course, was the first Republican president, but the university notes that the word "democrat" has been used in other arenas than simple party affiliation. The plaque creators, who donated it in 1905, were very likely referring to Lincoln's egalitarian philosophy, of which the "of the people" phrase is a good description. That's not the melancholy.
The melancholy comes when some folks took a video camera to the plaque and asked students if they knew whether Lincoln was a Democrat or a Republican. See how many don't know and how many guess. We're not talking about people knowing who Martin Van Buren's running mate was (he had none -- Richard Mentor Johnson was dropped from the ticket and elected by the United States Senate, and believe me, I had to look that up). We're talking about something as basic as the party affiliation of one of the greatest presidents of the United States and quite likely one of the greatest leaders of any English-speaking nation period. And we're talking about young people pursuing knowledge in a modern American university in the state that calls itself "The Land of Lincoln" not knowing that basic information.
Who the heck will they be qualified to govern?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Bitter Truth
A saying at Founder's Fund, a venture capital firm headed by technology entrepreneur Peter Thiel:
"We wanted flying cars, and instead we got 140 characters."
(H/T Dustbury)
"We wanted flying cars, and instead we got 140 characters."
(H/T Dustbury)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Abe's Chuckles
According to The Long Pursuit, a book about the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas by Roy Morris, Jr., our 16th president was a pretty good storyteller and spinner of tales, some of which were a little raw.
My favorite is his version of a visit to post Revolutionary War England by patriot Ethan Allen, who is at first annoyed by the English habit of placing pictures of George Washington in their privies or outhouses, thinking it derisive to Washington and insulting. Upon reflection, though, Lincoln says Allen realizes the actual reason is one of utility, since "there is nothing that will make an Englishman s**t so quick as the sight of General Washington."
My favorite is his version of a visit to post Revolutionary War England by patriot Ethan Allen, who is at first annoyed by the English habit of placing pictures of George Washington in their privies or outhouses, thinking it derisive to Washington and insulting. Upon reflection, though, Lincoln says Allen realizes the actual reason is one of utility, since "there is nothing that will make an Englishman s**t so quick as the sight of General Washington."
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