.
. . or they could be.
Dr. Mardy — as fans of language everywhere are aware — is the undisputed king of
quotemeisters. The author of such previous gems as “I never metaphor I didn’t
like” and “Metaphors be with you,” “Oxymoronica,” “Vive la repartee” and other
compilations of famous and not-so quotations, has released his latest
anthology. WORDsters should take note.
“Deconstructing
Trump” began as therapy for Mardy Grothe, a way for the retired psychologist to
turn to historical figures’ words to help him make sense of the 2016 election
and raise his spirits.
“Damning with faint praise is one thing. Damning a sitting
president with words spoken by Plato, Sandra Day O’Connor, Abraham Lincoln,
Gandhi, W.C. Fields, Winston Churchill, Proverbs, Carl Sandburg and a hundred
more is quite another.
“In his eighth book, quotemeister Dr. Mardy Grothe’s pen
becomes a mighty sword slicing into the character and behaviors of Donald
Trump.”
These
statements weren’t uttered about the Current Occupant, but Dr. Mardy discusses
how they could apply:
• Margaret Mitchell:
“…a liar was the hottest to defend his veracity, the coward his courage, the
ill-bred his gentlemanliness and the cad his honor.”
•
Alexander Hamilton: “How often the
great interests of society are sacrificed to the vanity, to the conceit and to
the obstinacy of individuals.”
• Ben Franklin: “Pardoning
the bad is injuring the good.”
• Dwight D. Eisenhower:
“You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not
leadership.”
• Clarence Darrow:
“When I was a boy I was told
that anybody could become president. I’m beginning to believe it.”
• Shakespeare: “I
did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart.”
• Samuel Adams: “If
ever the time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest
seats in government our society will stand in need of its experienced patriots
to prevent its ruin.”
• Editorial Comment: No comment.
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Ted Pease, Professor of
Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD
“I don’t think writers are sacred,
but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right
order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
