We’ve all felt this way, haven’t we? That tinge of pride during the national anthem, the sweet savor of apple pie, the feel of an UZI before a Saturday morning shooting outing with friends. In my opinion, few speeches so encapsulate that type of pride in our great country than this one, delivered by Lisa Simpson, in an episode of The Simpsons called “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington:
“When America was born on that hot July day in 1776, the trees in
Springfield Forest were tiny saplings, trembling towards the sun, and as
they were nourished by Mother Earth, so too did our fledgeling nation find
strength in the simple ideals of equality and justice. Who would have
thought such mighty oaks or such a powerful nation could grow out of
something so fragile, so pure. Thank you.”
When I read today that shortly after approving the Comcast takeover of NBC, one of the FCC commissioners that approved the takeover is now working at a peach of a job (as a Comcast lobbyist!!!!!) I felt that the speech Lisa shared later in the episode much more closely resembled the state of affairs in Washington today:
“The city of Washington was built on a stagnant swamp some 200 years ago,
and very little has changed. It stank then, and it stinks now.
Only today, it is the fetid stench of corruption that hangs in the air.
[Bart: Cool, a ruckus!]
“And who did I see taking a bribe but the “Honorable” Bob Arnold! Don’t worry,
Congressman, I’m sure you can buy all the votes you need with your dirty
money! And this will be one nation, under the dollar, with liberty and
justice for none…”
Well said Lisa, well said…
(Information regarding the Comcast deal can be found here.)
Gently Hew Stone 