Our current president is known, among other things, for his incredibly robust sense of self-regard. The truth, he says, is that he, and he alone, can fix what is wrong with the United States of America - and (for that matter) what is wrong with the world at large. You will probably remember this famous claim:
"I, Alone, Can Fix It"
There's actually a book about our current president's record of success (or not) in making good on this claim. Without giving too much away, let me report that Carol Leoning and Philip Rucker have concluded that our current president's claim, quoted above, is simply not true.
.png)
I have to confess that I have not, actually, read the book just pictured. I have read about it, though, and I do read the newspapers. I think my brief review of I Alone Can Fix it is quite accurate, and the authors of the book (and I join them) properly denounce our current president's claim as totally unjustified and inaccurate.
Let me draw your attention to an alternative phrase used by our historically most revered president, as he described the government of the United States and how it is supposed to work. President Lincoln said that our system of government was "of the people, by the people, and for the people." That's from the Gettysburg Address, in case you have forgotten.
"The People," to make a grammatical point, is a plural noun and includes absolutely everyone. Another famous statement (found in the Declaration of Independence) is similar, in its claim that "all persons are created equal."
Historically speaking, in other words, the "I alone can fix it" claim runs directly contrary to everything we have always believed about the United States and its government. Here's how I would transpose our current president's assertion into an assertion that conforms to what we have always believed (and have actually demonstrated to be true):
"We, Together, Can Fix It,
Whatever The Problem May Be"
That's the truth, the way I see it. Whatever may be going wrong, we can take collective and corrective action, and if we do, we can fix the problems we confront. By the way, we had better start doing that "fixing," too, before it's too late!
Image Credits:
(2) - https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9781526642660
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment!