“For all our blind spots and short-comings, we are a people with the strength and generosity of spirit to bridge divides, to unite in common effort, to help our neighbors, whether down the street or on the other side of the world.” – Barack Obama, from his 2015 State of the Union address.
“If you have to threaten someone into showing respect, whatever they end up showing isn’t respect but a simulation of it for someone else’s consumption.” – Elizabeth Bruenig, Washington Post columnist, on the NFL’s decision that teams and the league can impose “discipline” on any player who refuses to stand during the national anthem.
Why not have officials throw a flag and impose a fifteen-yard penalty? What about singers who forget the words, or fans in the stadium who remain seated – shouldn’t they pay a fine too? Displaying insufficient patriotism is a punishable offense – that’s right there in the Constitution, isn’t it?
“Too many of those [who are close-minded and mean-spirited] are currently in positions of power, their poverty of thought best expressed in that intellectual dead zone known as Twitter, where clear thinking and kindness is too often replaced by schoolyard taunts. Not to mention bad spelling and bad grammar.” – Steven King at the PEN Literary Gala
“The only thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the law is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.”
“When elected officials speak as though they are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law. And when we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality. Sometimes, it’s in the form of corruption. Sometimes, it’s abuse of power. And sometimes, it’s both.
“The greatest threat to American democracy isn’t communism, jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power. It’s our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power.”
– Michael Bloomberg, Commencement Address at Rice University, yesterday.
hamiltonbeck 