“A kinder, gentler nation” – or maybe not...

GEORGE’S APPARENTLY IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: “I want a kinder, gentler nation.”        George H. W. Bush          Republican politician and 41st President of the United States         This is one of three famous quotes from the speech Bush gave on August 18, 1988 at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, accepting his nomination as the presidential candidate of the Republican Party. That address, written by speechwriter Peggy Noonan, also included the memorable phrase “a thousand points of light” and Bush’s infamous pledge: “Read my lips: no new taxes.”        In the part of the speech that included the soon oft-parodied words “a kinder, gentler nation,” Bush explained:        “Prosperity with a purpose means taking your idealism and making it concrete by certain acts of goodness. It means helping a child from an unhappy home learn how to read - and I thank my wife Barbara for all her work in literacy. It means teaching troubled children through your presence that there's such a thing as reliable love. Some would say it's soft and insufficiently tough to care about these things. But where is it written that we must act as if we do not care, as if we are not moved? Well I am moved. I want a kinder, gentler nation.”

DONALD TRUMP’S RESPONSE: “I like George Bush very much and support him and always will. But I disagree with him when he talks of a kinder, gentler America. I think if this country gets any kinder or gentler, it's literally going to cease to exist. I think if we had people from the business community — the Carl Icahns, the Ross Perots — negotiating some of our foreign policy, we’d have respect around the world.”        Donald Trump        American businessman, reality TV celebrity and unreal presidential candidate        In an interview published in the March 1990 issue of Playboy magazine

NEIL YOUNG’S RESPONSE: “We got a thousand points of light For the homeless man We got a kinder, gentler Machine gun hand... Keep on rockin’ in the free world.”        Neil Young        Canadian rock musician and songwriter         These lyrics come from Young’s popular, politically-charged rock anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World,” released in 1989. He originally wrote the song to express his opinions about the political policies of President George H. W. Bush and what he viewed as an increasingly meaner, harsher America. Young still performs it with great passion today and many of the lyrics seem as relevant as ever. Maybe even more relevant.

DICK CHENEY’S RESPONSE: “I think they were hoping for a kinder, gentler Dick Cheney, and I listened to what they had to say, and then I ignored their advice.”        Dick Cheney        Republican politician and U.S. Vice President under President George W. Bush        Cheney made this comment in his memoir, In My Time (2011). It describes his response when campaign consultants working for Bush asked him not to use harsh rhetoric attacking Democrats during his speech at the 2000 Republican convention, due to their concerns that Cheney would alienate moderate swing voters. Of course, the consultants’ concerns were unfounded. Dubya went on to win the 1988 presidential election by a huge landslide over Gore and moderates came to love Cheney. Nah — just kidding.

A MARKET FORCE RESPONSE: “Market forces are not kinder and gentler to technologies just because we prefer them.”        Scott L. Montgomery        Geologist, author and faculty member at the University of Washington, Seattle        Commenting on renewable energy sources in his book The Powers That Be: Global Energy for the Twenty-first Century and Beyond (2010)

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Related reading (and listening)…

No peace (or rest) for the wicked…

THE BIBLICAL ORIGIN: “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.”        Isaiah 48:22 (King James version)        This Bible verse, and the similar line in Isaiah 57:20, gave rise to the proverbial saying “No rest for the wicked,” which eventually morphed into “No rest for the weary.” The meaning of the Bible verses is that people who do sinful, wicked things will be tormented and won’t be able to find peace in their lives.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR’S COUNTERQUOTE: “In this Kingdom of Evil, There is no peace for the Righteous. It is the wicked that inherited This tortured World, engulfed In the red, milky, cry-absorbing fog, Guarding the wilted conscience of man.”        Holocaust survivor Alexander Kimel        In his poem “We Will Never Forget – Auschwitz”

DAREDEVIL’S COUNTERQUOTE: “They say there’s not rest for the wicked. But what about the good? The battle of Good vs. Evil is never-ending because evil always survives, with the help of evil men.”        Daredevil (played by Ben Affleck)        In the movie Daredevil (2003)

DEEP THINKER’S VARIATION: “There is no peace for the thinker, unless in some way he learns the wisdom of Professor FE Abbott’s dictum, ‘Either we must cease to think, or we must think more profoundly.’”        Editorial in The Andover Review (June 1892)

PITY THE POOR POLITICIAN VERSION: “There is no peace for the politician save in the grave.”        Augustine Birrell        In his biography of William Hazlitt (1902)

PITY THE POOR VAMPIRE VERSION: “There is no rest for the undead!”        T-shirt on Zazzle.com

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A book of quotes for Rolling Stones fans: What Would Keith Richards Do? by Jessica Pallington West