A progressive friend deals with his dread and outrage at White House conduct unbecoming of the Presidency by writing poems in German and reading Eugene V. Debs.
…Their power sprang from their passion for freedom, for truth, for justice, for a world filled with light and with happy human beings. But for this divine passion neither would have scaled the sublime heights of immortal achievement. The sacred fire burned within them and when they were aroused it flashed from their eyes and rolled from their inspired lips in torrents of eloquence.
No man ever made a great speech on a mean subject. Slavery never inspired an immortal thought or utterance. Selfishness is dead to every art. The love of truth and the passion to serve it light every torch of real eloquence.
…There is no inspiration in evil and no power except for its own destruction.
He who aspires to master the art of expression must first of all consecrate himself completely to some great cause, and the greatest cause of all is the cause of humanity….
Such natural powers as he may have should be cultivated by the study of history, science, and literature. He must not only keep close to the people but remember that he is one of them, and not above the meanest. He must feel the wrongs of others so keenly that he forgets his own, and resolve to combat these wrongs with all the power in his command [Eugene V. Debs, “The Secret of Efficient Expression,” The Coming Nation, 1911.07.08].
No man ever made a great subject on a mean subject… and Donald Trump’s persistent subject is the meanest: himself. Ever obsessed with perceived slights against himself, he cannot fathom the wrongs others have suffered. So immersed in personal meanness, the current President will never make a great speech.
Good comment, but speaking of German, good joke on NPR a few days ago.A Jewish German-Russian stone carver was ready to enter the US. His name was almost unpronounceable. A compatriot with more knowledge of English and USA, told him that if he wanted to get anyplace in the US, he should change his name to Mason Rockefeller.
It was several hours before he got to his interview. By then he had forgotten the suggested name. He slapped his head and said in German,” I have forgotten.” He ended up with the name ” Ichabad Vergessen”.
Roger Cornelius
The stark contrast in the eloquent oratory of President Obama and the rambling lies of 45 is stunning, clearly President Obama followed Deb’s lesson on honest speaking and that honesty for the most part made President successful.
Somewhere on Facebook Bob Newland suggested that 45 has a vocabulary of 78 or 79 words if you counted very, very as two words.
Cory,
I agree with Lauren, this was a great post with a even greater link to Deb’s writings.
I am disappointed that more readers haven’t commented on this since it so relative to the hate of 45.
bearcreekbat
Eugene Debs was a wonderful orator advocating a positive message, which made his speeches so powerful. It is hard to fault Trump for lacking Debs’ eloquence as not many other individuals could match it.
Trump’s speech is arguably equally informative and powerful as Deb’s speech, except the message is different. Trump subconsciously conveys a different, more negative, but arguably more important, message than Debs.
The plain message Trump conveys reveals important aspects of his mental heath. Trump tells the world he is a confused and frightened man who makes obvious plainly false statements about crowd sizes, et al, and makes his fear of others a primary message of his speeches. We should not require him to expressly say “I have delusions and paranoia” before we try to get him the medical help he might need.
Thanks, Roger! Sometimes the “think” pieces don’t draw as much conversation, but they’re there to share!
Bear, you are right that Trump sends a clear message of one sort. Alas, it’s not a message of vision, leadership, and (per the Debs critique) concern for others.
bearcreekbat
Cory, here is some additional support for my evaluation of Trump’s public behavior and statements.
Bear,
Thanks for the Salon link, it validates what many have said during both the primary and general election concerning 45’s mental health.
There are times when you are tempted to say, “I told you so”, this one of them.
In recent days the White house is expressing its concern over leaks from this republican administration, especially regarding Trump’s mental health.
It does seem that in recent South Dakota history we witnessed the very public meltdown of Dr. Bosworth and republicans were smart enough to keep her out of office.
Unfortunately South Dakotans didn’t have the same perception of 45.
Good comment, but speaking of German, good joke on NPR a few days ago.A Jewish German-Russian stone carver was ready to enter the US. His name was almost unpronounceable. A compatriot with more knowledge of English and USA, told him that if he wanted to get anyplace in the US, he should change his name to Mason Rockefeller.
It was several hours before he got to his interview. By then he had forgotten the suggested name. He slapped his head and said in German,” I have forgotten.” He ended up with the name ” Ichabad Vergessen”.
The stark contrast in the eloquent oratory of President Obama and the rambling lies of 45 is stunning, clearly President Obama followed Deb’s lesson on honest speaking and that honesty for the most part made President successful.
Somewhere on Facebook Bob Newland suggested that 45 has a vocabulary of 78 or 79 words if you counted very, very as two words.
I loved this post. Thank you for the inspiration.
You’re welcome, Lauren! Very, very welcome.
Cory,
I agree with Lauren, this was a great post with a even greater link to Deb’s writings.
I am disappointed that more readers haven’t commented on this since it so relative to the hate of 45.
Eugene Debs was a wonderful orator advocating a positive message, which made his speeches so powerful. It is hard to fault Trump for lacking Debs’ eloquence as not many other individuals could match it.
Trump’s speech is arguably equally informative and powerful as Deb’s speech, except the message is different. Trump subconsciously conveys a different, more negative, but arguably more important, message than Debs.
The plain message Trump conveys reveals important aspects of his mental heath. Trump tells the world he is a confused and frightened man who makes obvious plainly false statements about crowd sizes, et al, and makes his fear of others a primary message of his speeches. We should not require him to expressly say “I have delusions and paranoia” before we try to get him the medical help he might need.
Thanks, Roger! Sometimes the “think” pieces don’t draw as much conversation, but they’re there to share!
Bear, you are right that Trump sends a clear message of one sort. Alas, it’s not a message of vision, leadership, and (per the Debs critique) concern for others.
Cory, here is some additional support for my evaluation of Trump’s public behavior and statements.
http://www.salon.com/2017/02/14/distorting-reality-politicians-mental-health-experts-say-theyre-worried-about-donald-trump/?source=newsletter
Bear,
Thanks for the Salon link, it validates what many have said during both the primary and general election concerning 45’s mental health.
There are times when you are tempted to say, “I told you so”, this one of them.
In recent days the White house is expressing its concern over leaks from this republican administration, especially regarding Trump’s mental health.
It does seem that in recent South Dakota history we witnessed the very public meltdown of Dr. Bosworth and republicans were smart enough to keep her out of office.
Unfortunately South Dakotans didn’t have the same perception of 45.