Hey, Hey, LBJ....
Nov. 4th, 2004 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphiloI've been around a while and I've seen hateful politicians come and go.
They arrive, they block out the light, they depart.
The first American President I really hated was LBJ.
"Hey, hey, LBJ
How many kids have you killed today?"
Actually Johnson wasn't all bad. He pushed through civil rights legislation. Sometimes the biggest monsters do the most surprising things.
Like it was Nixon who went to China. And maybe (as the old Vulcan proverb says) he was the only one who could.
Then there was Margaret Thatcher. I hated her with a passion. And she just seemed to go on and on and on. But she's stepped down now- and I find it hard to remember what all the fuss was about.
Politicians are less important than they/we think they are. Who was in charge in the 1890s? Which American Presidents? Which British Prime Ministers? I don't know. I'd have to go look it up. But everybody's heard of Oscar Wilde.
They arrive, they block out the light, they depart.
The first American President I really hated was LBJ.
"Hey, hey, LBJ
How many kids have you killed today?"
Actually Johnson wasn't all bad. He pushed through civil rights legislation. Sometimes the biggest monsters do the most surprising things.
Like it was Nixon who went to China. And maybe (as the old Vulcan proverb says) he was the only one who could.
Then there was Margaret Thatcher. I hated her with a passion. And she just seemed to go on and on and on. But she's stepped down now- and I find it hard to remember what all the fuss was about.
Politicians are less important than they/we think they are. Who was in charge in the 1890s? Which American Presidents? Which British Prime Ministers? I don't know. I'd have to go look it up. But everybody's heard of Oscar Wilde.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-04 02:35 pm (UTC)I am thinking how many american presidents and writers from more than hundred years ago I can recall without looking them up in wikipedia.org:
Washington (must have been the first one, no?)
Lincoln (the war of northern aggression, I suppose)
yes, that's it, I'm affraid...
now writers:
yes, first comes Gone with the wind -- Mitchell
and the opposite view -- uncle tom's cabin, Stowe
Then the one about a whale -- Melvill, I think
Oh, and there goes O'Henry -- I just love him
yes, and the guy with alaska stories -- Jack London
and... oops, can't recall anything else at the moment...
so, it's 5-2 in favour of writers -- you must be right!
Mark Twain
Date: 2004-11-04 02:38 pm (UTC)7:2
Date: 2004-11-04 02:41 pm (UTC)Re: 7:2
Date: 2004-11-04 05:21 pm (UTC)presidents and writers
Date: 2004-11-04 08:13 pm (UTC)no, of all these names only Poe rings a bell, however, since I don't like his verses, I don't feel like I can use his name...
actually, talking about Poe, I've recalled Longfellow!
Anyway, you are probably right about presidents and writers -- an average person (and I mean NOT a native English speaker -- I am sure at school you just had to read all these authors under a threat of severe punishment) would probably recall 2 presidents and about 7 writers.
Re: presidents and writers
Date: 2004-11-04 08:47 pm (UTC)But yes, there are two pre 20th century American presidents who are figures of international fame and importance- Washington and Lincoln- with Jefferson as a possible third.