With respect to the State of the Union speech muttered so ungraciously and befuddled in oratorical Fluffernutter:
I spent so many years of my life as a speechwriter sharing with my bosses and clients the words of the great writers, orators, philosophers, statesmen/women, civil rights leaders, scientists, artists, musicians and others for whom the spoken and written word was a sacrosanct gift to be used to teach, bind, comfort, elevate, and encourage. Washington has given birth to many fine speechwriters, and, when I was actively pursuing that trade, I often felt inadequate to the task in comparison to my colleagues (and past word wizards) who were able to reach for, grasp, and spread on paper the starry firmament of a great speech. I also was impressed by the men and women for whom those speeches were written and so well executed; spoken honestly, with passion, mission, and a sense of national, united, spirit.
That was then.
So far, in the past 10 years, maybe a bit more, I have not found among all the candidates--among all the men and women I would want to lead us away from the danger toward which we are slouching--one to whom I would offer my services (even at my age), because they would not be able to understand or convey the messages from the past to the generations of the future. One only needs to look at Tuesday's State of the Union to see how Trump's third-grade (as in elementary school) speechwriters assaulted the English language, butchered Lincoln and half-a-dozen other visionaries, and hijacked Woody Guthrie's American anthem. And, to be fair to those scribes toiling in the Stygian tombs of Trumpworld, even a brilliant writer, drawing on the greatest words ever written or spoken, could not put in front of the current president a speech he could issue with any sense of clarity, honor, truth, and understanding.
Of course there are powerful voices out there, some experienced, some very new. Their voices are filled with outrage and justifiable senses of belittlement and disenfranchisement. There are voices speaking for the lost and forgotten; voices speaking for the unborn and aged; voices speaking for equality and prosperity. So many voices. But to my ear and sensibility they become too shrill, too demanding of tone and deafening in volume to be credible voices for comity, compromise, and affection for our national promise.
I don't want shouters; I don't want venomous tongues; I don't admire cutting and biting rhetoric; I don't respect carefully-crafted, brutally-thrown one-liners or sound bites. The moment I hear a man or woman speak that way, I run from anything else their attitude might convey.
As a person speaks, so do they act. As a person defends, so, too, they offend. To whom do I turn today for solace and credibility? In whom would I place my trust and treasure? From whom would I want to hear words of comfort in times of trial? Such a person does not exist in the world I know.
But if I had my druthers, and could piece together a man or woman for the presidency or any high office or position of great national responsibility, I would begin with Lincoln, and to his honest, calm, and steady nature, complete with compassion and framed in eloquence both written and spoken, I would add the civilly disobedient and visionary exhortations of Martin Luther King, Jr.; the inquisitiveness of Einstein, Curie, Grace Hopper, and Hawking; the heart and righteous commitment of Barbara Jordan; the faith in America of Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt; the humility of Truman; the indefatigable strength of leadership of George Washington; the determination of Susan B. Anthony; the courage of Harriet Tubman; the self-deprecating humor of Will Rogers, Reagan, Kennedy (JFK), and Obama (both of them); and the unquenchable desire to push the limits of the known world by such explorers as Lindbergh, Earhart, Armstrong, and Ride.
I want a presidential candidate who enjoys reading across a broad genre of literature--fiction and non-fiction (with an emphasis on biographies and history); I want a writer, a real, honest-to-goodness writer; I want someone who is comfortable speaking in front of 50 or 10,000, or one-million people, and whose words are well-chosen, filled with meaning, and meant for all ears. I want someone comfortable with science and the arts; someone who does not mind being challenged by brighter minds, someone who, in fact, demands that bright minds be a part of his or her decision-making process; I want a kind and gentle person; someone who loves children (their own and others), someone who respects nature, and enjoys the company of dogs, cats, and other furry friends. I want someone who has worn the uniform of the nation's armed forces; I want someone who understands and can deal with the complexities of the world community. I want someone who has gotten his or her hands dirty in honest labor and who knows the value of a hard-earned dollar.
I suspect I'm going to be waiting a long, long time for such a woman or man.
