Wednesday, July 3, 2002

David McCullough reminds us of the momentous events of 226 years ago. But if Adams, or others of the 56 patriots who put their names on the Declaration of Independence, could imagine us celebrating what they did, how should we imagine them? To begin with, they were not gods. Indeed, had they been they would deserve less honor and respect. Gods, after all, can do largely as they please. They were human and imperfect; each had his flaws and failings. Jefferson made the point in the very first line of the Declaration of Independence: "When in the course of human events . . . ." The key word is human. The miracle was that imperfect mortals could so rise to the occasion, that such noble ideals and brilliant political leadership came to the fore as they did, that so few could, in the end, accomplish so much for all humankind. 11:35:00 PM      comment [] President Bush needs a new speech writer. The one he has now comes up with all that serious "axis of evil" and "weapons of mass destruction" stuff, but perhaps a lighter approach would take the edge off our relationship with countries like Iraq. James Lileks seems pretty happy with his life in Minneapolis, but maybe he would be available for the occasional really important speech. (Scroll down to "News Report.") 6:27:14 PM      comment []

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