HAPPY DAYS

The first Republican president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, is remembered for the Emancipation Proclamation,  his second "A house divided" inaugural address, and perhaps the greatest speech in recorded history: The Gettysburg Address.

Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, started construction of the Panama Canal, wrote and delivered the "Man in the Arena" speech much quoted on this humble blog, and won the Nobel Peace prize for helping end the Russian-Japanese War.

At the current Republican convention, someone who works with something called "Duck Dynasty" gave a prime time speech on the first night.

President Dwight David Eisenhower, wrote two speeches the night of June 1, 1944, one announcing the successful invasion of Europe, another announcing the failure of the invasion. Two nights later he made perhaps the most momentous decision of the twentieth century, giving the go-ahead for the Allied invasion of France, and as Winston Churchill opined, not the end, not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning of the Nazi occupation of Europe. As President, Eisenhower spent his farewell address warning the country about the rise of the "military-industrial complex."

Words matter. Speeches can change the world.
On June 12, 1987, Ronald Wilson Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall and said "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!!!." Four years later, on December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union went out of existence, not with a bang, but a whimper.

Scott Baio, of Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi fame, also addressed the current Republican National Convention.

The Gettysburg Address. Roosevelt. Eisenhower. "Tear Down this wall!" And now Duck Dynasty and Joanie Loves Chachi.

There's nothing we can say that would ameliorate the enormity of this tragedy and the dumbing down of America and the Republican Party.