Au revoir Liz Truss, we hardly knew ya. You set the record for the shortest term of a British PM- 44 days and ten of those the country was shut down mourning the death of the Queen. First you lost your economic plan, and then you lost your job.
There were several jokes at the expense of the PM, including a newspaper that bought a head of lettuce a few days ago and wondered which would last longer- the lettuce or the PM.
The lettuce won.
But let us say this. While the Torries are in disarray, the greatest democracy in the world is not. It works. Unlike certain countries that make a dreadful mistake in electing a president and then are stuck with him for four years, the British quickly corrected their mistake.
For those of you who wear black everyday and also spend most of your time on IG (i.e., those of you under 40) you might be puzzling over the title of the post. "Not their finest hour. Hmmm, what an odd phrase. Oh well, let me see what Kim K is wearing today."
No, it's not an odd turn of a phrase. We are paraphrasing one of the greatest (but not the greatest) oration ever given in the English language.
So what's the greatest? I'm a Second Inaugural man, myself. Each reads the same bible and prays to the same god and each invokes his aid against the other, though it may seem strange that any man dare to seek the assistance of a just god in wringing his bread from the sweat of other men's faces but lest us judge not that we be not judged. Lincoln is our greatest poet.
ReplyDeleteParliamentary democracy is a far better system than ours. But ours is the one we have - for as long as we can keep it.
ReplyDeleteRump,
ReplyDeleteIs there a more slow, inefficient, disorganized calendar than Joe Perkins? Nice guy and a decent judge, but holy shit. It's like every case on calendar is a law school exam question, requires briefing and oral arguments by both sides and a Socratic theory explanation of the Rule Against Perpetuities. It's so bad. Seriously, some other judge needs to come in there and teach him how to get to the point and move the calendar along.
Roberto Pineiro is probably rolling over in his grave.
Ah 9:51 you are the reader we write for, the one who makes us smile.
ReplyDeleteLet the debate begin. Lincoln's second....perhaps.
The Gettysburg address- how can one not vote for that? BUT, those two speeches were to heal a country that had been torn apart. They are 1A and 1AA and you pick which is which.
But the greatest speech in history, and it is really just the peroration, is Churchill's "We shall never surrender."
"We shall neither flag nor fail..."
Churchill wasn't healing a nation, he was drawing a line in the sand of the beaches of England. He was saying this small island outpost of democracy, facing Nazi Germany's domination of Europe alone...
"I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone."
Those last three words...said with solemnity. a rich baritone voice, bracing himself and a nation to face the overwhelming onslaught of fascism alone - to outlive the menace of tyranny. Alone. Consider how frightening that prospect was back then.
That being said, we must include MLK's Dream Speech. Because while Lincoln healed a nation, and Churchill steeled a nation to fight, Dr. King moved a nation - an entire nation- towards a course on par with what the founding ideals promised but never delivered on. King's task was as monumental as Lincoln's and Churchill's, and given that we are approaching 60 years on that speech, we are not done getting to the place King tried to move us to.
I'll give you "blood and tears and toil and sweat." And "I may not get there with you." Hard to argue with either one. Hard to get through either one without choking up.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll drop the mic with: "Fondly do we hope ~ fervently do we pray ~ that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'
But you have good taste in speeches except for Gettysburg. That was just the rough draft of the second inaugural!
Churchill, Lincoln, etc. will stand tall forever. More fun though is ranking and debating speeches given by people living today.
ReplyDeleteI like this one. Start this at 11:58 until about 14:15: https://www.c-span.org/video/?203489-1/obama-hampshire-election