by William “Duke” Smither “We must challenge this statement and this sentiment that the news media is the enemy of the American people. This sentiment may be the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.” William H. McRaven, Retired U.S. Navy 4-Star Admiral, 9th Commander U.S. Special Ops Lessons Learned? From my childhood […]
Category: Politics
by William “Duke” Smither “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” (Frederick […]
by William “Duke” Smither “We remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.” – President Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America This post is not about NASCAR (“National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing”), nor […]
By William “Duke” Smither “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore…” – from “The New Colossus,” written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus (American-born, Jewish Author, and Activist), displayed on the plaque of ‘Lady Liberty’, a gracious gift from France. […]
by William “Duke” Smither “Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Swiss-born philosopher, writer, political theorist and 18th century “Enlightenment Thinker”). Over the years, I’ve come to think that revolutions, that is, the way we commonly define them, more […]
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus…” Martin Luther King, Jr.
By William “Duke” Smither “Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” (John Adams, 2nd President of the United States) National Moral Character? Lordy, Lordy! One would have had to have been born “Rip Van Winkle II,” the fictional dude who fell asleep and […]
By William “Duke” Smither “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr. While I never met Senator John McCain (08/29/1936 – 08/25/2018), as a U.S. Navy Viet Nam Era Veteran […]
by William “Duke” Smither “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana (from “Reason in Common Sense,” Vol. 1 of The Life of Reason, 1905; also, inscribed, in Polish translation, on a plaque at the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in WWII occupied Poland.) […]
by William “Duke” Smither “My grandfather had a dream that his four little children will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream that enough is enough…” Nine-Year-Old Yolanda Renee King (Eldest granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr. during “March of Our Lives” […]
