For a moment I hadn’t remembered if I already shared with you my family connection to the late President George H. W. Bush, but then I recalled that a year ago last week I shared those memories in a newsletter titled “Mondale at the Sandwich Shop” (which I hope you will reread).
In his most famous speech, Shakespeare’s Marc Antony gave his impression of how we remember the recently departed:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interrèd with their bones.
So let it be with Caesar.
In my opinion, because of the current occupant of the White House, every departed prominent political leader, no matter his or her political affiliation, will be lauded by comparison. Consider the jibes pointed at Donald Trump from those speaking at the August and September funerals of Aretha Franklin and John McCain. The honorees’ differences with Trump were highlighted, such that a somber or celebratory occasion also became political.
Trump had his differences with the Bush family, including Bush senior. In one speech, Trump admitted to his inability to understand the “thousand points of light” metaphor that Bush used in speeches, courtesy of Peggy Noonan, to explain his interest in volunteerism as an alternative to government solutions to social ills. Trump said, “What the hell was that, by the way, thousand points of light? What did that mean? Does anyone know? I know one thing: Make America Great Again, we understand. Putting America first, we understand. Thousand points of light, I never quite got that one.” Sigh. At least Trump won’t be speaking at the State funeral.
Perhaps we can learn something from Trump. As Edgar Allan Poe said, “Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.” To put a momentary end to that suffering, we might contrast Trump’s words with a paragraph taken from Bush’s sole inaugural address:
“For the first time in this century, for the first time in perhaps all history, man does not have to invent a system by which to live. We don’t have to talk late into the night about which form of government is better. We don’t have to wrest justice from the kings. We only have to summon it from within ourselves. We must act on what we know. I take as my guide the hope of a saint: In crucial things, unity; in important things, diversity; in all things, generosity.”
That was Bush’s only mention of “the hope of a saint” on that day – I wonder if anyone asked him about that. But I think we can all appreciate his interest in unity, diversity, and generosity. Some at the time would wonder where that generosity was when so many victims of HIV and AIDS needed more leadership and federal support for research. Others might have wondered if Bush’s famous “Willie Horton” political advertisement against Michael Dukakis contributed to the unity that appeals to saints.
But I am here more to praise than to malign. Bush Sr. was always kind to my father, which I appreciated. He gave an excellent speech at my university’s sesquicentennial anniversary graduation, even though I would rather have heard from Ted Kennedy, who was also on stage that day. And he might also be remembered for the famous hand-written letter that he left for his successor in the White House. Let’s be grateful for such touches of generosity when we can find them in our political leaders, and all work to make sure that we continue to keep our highest ideals in mind when choosing such leaders in the future.
Tonight’s Pub Quiz will feature questions on topics raised above, and on the following: easy places to spend money, crash test dummies, hand-to-hand combat, new leadership, favorite composers, unusual kingdoms, countries of origin, famous battles, adopted moms, membranes, South Central Mexico, prime numbers, soups, drink choices in Irish pubs, numbers before letters, last titles, small timbers, the War of 1812, the National Board of Review, leftover rubble, trashy cobblers, modes, comedians, musical handles, old states and young, the return of oxygen, asparagus, words that end with the letter O, triple crowns, and Shakespeare.
Poetry Night on December 6 features Mary Mackey, author of more than 20 books. Her bio is almost as long as some of my unpublished poetry chapbooks. Please join us Thursday night at 8 at the Natsoulas Gallery for Poetry Night. The open mic (which I hope will feature two poems by Anna Fenerty) starts at 9, and the after-party here at the Pub at 10.
See you tonight!
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Here are three questions from a 2012 quiz:
- Pop Culture – Music. The 1999 platinum debut album So Real was released by the singer and actress who played the voice of Rapunzel in the film Tangled. What is her name?
- Science. The whistle-pig and the land-beaver are two uncommon names for what common marmot?
- Great Americans. In office for more than four years, who preceded Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State?
P.S. One last GHWB quotation: “No problem of human making is too great to be overcome by human ingenuity, human energy, and the untiring hope of the human spirit.”