Say Goodbye to Hollywood…

     “So many faces in and out of our lives…

      

Some will last…

“…Some will just be now and then…

                                             Mitt Romney

                                         Newt Gingrich

                                          Rick Santorum

 “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes…

Tim Pawlenty…

                                    Herman Cain

                                                Michele Bachmann

                                          Rick Perry
 

 

                                            Jon Huntsman

                                         

 

   “… I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again…”

 

                               Sara Palin

   “…Say goodbye to Hollywood…”

            Since I have laryngitis and have not written in such a long time, I decided to keep this return less verbose, less trying, and figured I would just “show and tell.” (Ok, I tried). I hope everyone gets the sort of hidden message herein:  true leaders need no introduction. 

            To our first president, I say, thank you for showing us that the peaceful exchange of power was indeed possible: you would not allow a pseudo-monarchy to be made out of our new-born democracy; you turned down all persuasion and refused to run for a third term.  Your farewell address is as powerful today as it was when you made it.  You have my gratitude for it and for fighting, as general, for the pay and equipping of soldiers.  You have my gratitude for your military brilliance, making a motley crew, so seriously out-numbered by the British, a majestic and victorious bunch. 

           To Thomas Jefferson, I say thank you for the eloquence that declared our independence and explained our revolutionary actions to an imperialistic world so forthrightly, so justly that the nations of the world could not reject us out of hand, but would concede to take measure of the brave upstarts we were, and allow themselves to trade with us.  I thank you for delivering to such a world the message that all men are created equal, not easy for any empire to accept, but you did declare this most decidedly, and it has become the catch-phrase for freedom and equality everywhere and for all time. I thank you for your inventions, your rhetorical brilliance, your enduring example of diplomacy as our first Secretary of State, your “Jefferson Bible,” which ought to be more than little known, as it extrapolates from a book of fantasy the philosophy all of us could live by, for your desire to build, if it were possible, a wall between church and state, and for the Louisiana Purchase.  I thank you for way more, but I promised to make this brief. 

            To Abraham Lincoln, I say thank you for making the aforementioned ideal of equality a reality with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, finally settling the question of slavery by abolishing it—something that political realities of the times would not allow our Declaration or Constitution to do— weakening the South by it so the Union would prevail or we would not be here today, calling ourselves citizens of the UNITED States of America. It got you killed, but it set us free—all of us; for, “no man can be free while others are oppressed.”  I thank you for the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th amendments.  I thank you for your rhetorical brilliance, as well, citing here that, yes, leaders ought to know how to speak and write so gorgeously; I am always challenged by your words to live up to the better angels of my nature.  And…thanks to Billy Joel for his lyrics.

To Tim, Herman, Michele, and Rick P. I want to say thank you for saying goodbye.  To Jon, the least egregious of them all, I say too bad, at least you have a sense of reason. To Mitt, Rick S. (scary little man—only for your faith, your idea of family, and freedom only to those who conform to your beliefs, I wish Thomas Jefferson was here to kick your bigoted, parochial ass), and Newt (please…don’t let me start…), I hope we will be parting ways very, very soon.  To the others in the GOP, I wish for the same.

I hope to be back to this page soon.  I hope you hope so, too.  It is so difficult to teach and find the time to do anything else.  I started this blog in the summer, when I had time to research and write.  I am passionate about it and can become monomaniacal, too, writing for hours on end and way into the night, making my study an unmitigated mess of books, parchments, napkins and newspaper ends I scrawled all over, thinking I should really use the Kindle I was given, but hate because it is not a BOOK, and luxuriating in the lovely weeks off to do this, my writing, in the hope that I might do some justice to some issue, and be worthy of the time you take to read me.  Thank you, really.  If not for you, I would be “talking” to myself.  

Now, here's to those who are truly worth our attention and admiration...



P.S.   GO  GIANTS !!!