“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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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

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

THE FAMOUS PATRIOTIC QUOTE: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”        Nathan Hale (1755-1776)        American schoolteacher, spy and Revolutionary War hero        According to legend, Hale uttered this brave quote on September 22, 1776, just before he was hung by the British for being an American spy. According to modern historians, he probably didn’t say it. If he did, he was probably paraphrasing an earlier quote from Joseph Addison’s play Cato (1713), which was popular in the 1770s and almost certainly known to Hale. In Act IV, Scene 4 of the play, Cato says: “What pity is it / That we can die but once to serve our country!”

THE COLBERT COUNTERQUOTE: “I regret that I have but one life to give. I want more lives!”        Stephen Colbert        American political satirist        In his intro to the June 5, 2008 episode of The Colbert Report

THE ABBIE HOFFMAN FLAG SHIRT VARIATION: “I only regret that I have but one shirt to give for my country.”        Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989)        American political activist and leader of the Yippies        His response in October 1968 after being found guilty of the “crime” of wearing an American flag shirt.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE VARIATION: “I only regret that I have but one liver to give for my country.”        Fred Chapin (1929-1969)        American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Guatemala and Ethiopia        Chapin, famous for his ability to drink a bottle of Scotch and still give a lucid interview, is generally credited with coining this quip. It’s said to be well-known in Foreign Service circles.

THE CHEEZY LOLCAT VARIATION: “I only regret that I have but nine lives to give for my Cheez-site.”         Posted by CorvusCorax         Another one of those cute LOLcat photo/quotes

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“Let them eat cake” – the misinterpreted origin, recent political uses and some politically incorrect variations...

THE ALLEGED (BUT DOUBTFUL) ORIGIN: “Let them eat cake.” (“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”)        Attributed to Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)        Queen of France from 1774 to 1792; beheaded in 1793 in the wake of the French Revolution         This classic expression of disdain for the common people has traditionally been attributed to Marie Antoinette. She supposedly said it when she was told that most French people were do poor they were unable to buy bread to eat. Many scholars now doubt that she actually said it. Moreover, if she did say the line as traditionally given in French — “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” — it has long been mistranslated and possibly misunderstood. In English, those words actually mean “Let them eat brioche,” referring to a bakery product that is not what we usually think of as a “cake.” Brioche is a light, fluffy pastry with a flaky crust. As explained by the excellent Phrase Finder site, French law in Marie Antoinette’s time required bakers to sell fancier products like brioche at the same price as a common loaf of bread, to prevent them from using too much of the limited flour supplies to make products that would typically be more profitable to the bakery but unaffordable to poor French families. Thus, “Let them eat brioche” could have been an expression of compassion rather than disdain, suggesting that poor people should have access to a product they would have been unable to afford without price controls.

THE POLITICAL PEAS VERSION: “While chastising the Republicans for not agreeing to a debt ceiling deal that would include his suggestions to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits, President Obama said Congressional members needed to do their work, reach a deal and just ‘eat their peas.’...While no one knows for sure if Marie Antoinette ever really said, ‘Let them eat cake,’ we do know the elite in France all those years ago in the 1700s were clueless to the cries of people who couldn't afford bread much less the cake they had been admonished to eat. It appears that in 2011 in the United States of America, we can now replace that admonition with our own: ‘Let them eat their peas.’”        Donna Smith        Healthcare reform activist and Founder of American Patients United        In an opinion piece posted on OpedNews.com on July 18, 2011

THE POLITICAL CORN (FLAKE) VERSION: “Now, once again the reincarnated Marie Antoinette Michele Bachmann is screaming from the floor of the House of Representatives and from Iowa televisions ‘I will not raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. Let them eat corn!’ If the GOP once again drive the country and the world into a financial ditch can martial law and a fascist dictatorship in the United States be far behind?”        Karen Fish        Freelance blogger        In an op-ed posted on TheSpoof.com site on July 23, 2011

POLITICALLY INCORRECT VARIATION #1: “Let Them Eat Pussy”        Title of the 1998 debut album by the “psychobilly” rock band Nashville Pussy

POLITICALLY INCORRECT VARIATION #2: “I saw this video once, yeah, they was all dressed up like Marie Antoinette. Well, they wore the wigs. Let Them Eat Cock it was called.”        Actor Fraser Ayres        As the character Clint, in an episode of the BBC comedy TV series The Smoking Room (2004–2005)

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Alternative versions of the Pledge of Allegiance…

THE ORIGINAL PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”        Francis Bellamy (1855-1931)         American Baptist minister, Christian Socialist and magazine editor        This is the original Pledge of Allegiance, written by Bellamy and published in the September 8, 1892 issue of The Youth’s Companion magazine. The words were changed several times in following decades. In 1923, at the first National Flag Conference in Washington D.C., “my Flag” was changed to “the flag of the United States.” At the following year’s national Flag Conference, the words “of America” were added. In 1942, that version of the Pledge was made official by Congress. In 1954, Congress passed a resolution which added the words “under God” to the Pledge, creating the current version:       “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

THE MAD MAGAZINE FLAG POSTER VERSION: “I WILL PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS WHEN IT IS ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL INCLUDING KIKES, WOPS, SPICS, NIGGERS, WASPS, ETC.”         From a poster in a 1971 special issue of MAD magazine (Special Number Five)        These words are printed in capital letters in the red stripes of the poster’s flag image (shown at left).

THE WHITEST KIDS U’ KNOW VERSION: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you very, very much for letting us little kids live here. It really, really was nice of you. You didn’t have to do it. And it’s really not freaky that us little, little kids mindlessly recite this anthem every day and pledge their life to a government before they’re old enough to really think about what they’re saying. This is not a form of brainwashing. This is not a form of brainwashing. This is not a form of brainwashing. This is really the greatest country in the whole world. All the other countries suck. And, if this country ever goes to war, as it often wants to do, I promise to help go and kill all the other countries’ kids. God bless Johnson & Johnson. God bless GE. God bless Citigroup. Amen.”        From IFC’s Whitest Kids U' Know comedy series        This skit is in Episode 7 of Season 5 (first aired on May 27, 2011).

THE ANIMAL HOUSE VERSION: “I, state your name, do hereby pledge allegiance to the frat with liberty and fraternity for all. Amen.”        The Delta House fraternity pledge, in National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)

A MATHEMATICIAN’S VERSION: “I pledge my support for the semiautonomous, evolving, complex dynamical network known as the United States of America and for those principles that maximize the degrees of freedom and independence of its human nodes.”        John Allen Paulos        Professor of Mathematics at Temple University        One of a number of alternate versions of the Pledge of Allegiance submitted to the Washington Post for a special section in the July 4, 2005 edition.

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