RIP Jeane Kirkpatrick
Much has been written (in the last two days) about former US ambassador to the UN Jeane Kirkpatrick. Her loss this week is big in a lot of ways.
Back when she was at the UN, I can't say I was a fan. I found her brashness to be off-putting. But then again, I was a know it all teenager. Now, in 20/20 hindsight, I realize that her brashness was a large reason for her success. You can not be a cream puff when you are running in diplomatic circles, and Ms. Kirkpatrick could never be mistaken for a cream puff. Her staunch activism against communism belied the fact that in college, she was an active socialist in college. Working in the Reagan Administration, she was still a registered Democrat, although a disallusioned one to be sure. Her 1984 "Blame America First" speech is a speech that every JFK Democrat and "neo-con" in this country can relate to as it documents out our very own disallusionment with the party we grew up in and it has been quoted extensively since her death. Rather than quoting the same part of the speech that everyone else highlighted, I would like to close with this portion of her text.
"I want to begin tonight by quoting the speech of the president whom I very greatly admire, Harry Truman, who once said to the Congress:
"The United States has become great because we, as a people, have been able to work together for great objectives even while differing about details."
He continued:
"The elements of our strength are many. They include our democratic government, our economic system, our great natural resources. But, the basic source of our strength is spiritual. We believe in the dignity of man."
We believe in the dignity of man....how can you not find that inspiring?
Rest in peace grand lady. You served your country well.
Back when she was at the UN, I can't say I was a fan. I found her brashness to be off-putting. But then again, I was a know it all teenager. Now, in 20/20 hindsight, I realize that her brashness was a large reason for her success. You can not be a cream puff when you are running in diplomatic circles, and Ms. Kirkpatrick could never be mistaken for a cream puff. Her staunch activism against communism belied the fact that in college, she was an active socialist in college. Working in the Reagan Administration, she was still a registered Democrat, although a disallusioned one to be sure. Her 1984 "Blame America First" speech is a speech that every JFK Democrat and "neo-con" in this country can relate to as it documents out our very own disallusionment with the party we grew up in and it has been quoted extensively since her death. Rather than quoting the same part of the speech that everyone else highlighted, I would like to close with this portion of her text.
"I want to begin tonight by quoting the speech of the president whom I very greatly admire, Harry Truman, who once said to the Congress:
"The United States has become great because we, as a people, have been able to work together for great objectives even while differing about details."
He continued:
"The elements of our strength are many. They include our democratic government, our economic system, our great natural resources. But, the basic source of our strength is spiritual. We believe in the dignity of man."
We believe in the dignity of man....how can you not find that inspiring?
Rest in peace grand lady. You served your country well.
posted by The Lady Logician at
8:22 PM
4 Comments:
Let's talk about human rights shall we Skipper....Let's talk about the human rights of the ethnic Serbs and Croats that President Clinton bombed...Let's talk about the human rights abuses that are being inflicted in Darfur by the UN Blue helmets...Let's talk about the human rights abuses that were inflicted on the Vietnamese people as a direct result of our pulling out of SouthEast Asia.....Let's talk (again and again and again) about the human rights abuses that are occuring every day in Iran.
Are you saying that we should go into any and every situation where there is an abuse of human rights?
By
The Lady Logician, at 10:47 AM
You issed the import of my message. Reagan/Kirkpatrick provided significant US aid to the fascist regimes in Latin America. Of course we cannot intervene in every nation where there are human rights violations. But we should not be actively supporting regimes that murder their citizens with impunity. Reagan/Kirkpatrick did just that.
As to our intervention in Bosnia, there we took a stand AGAINST massive human rights abuses.
By
Anonymous, at 2:06 PM
Yes and US Presidents before and since have provided significant financial aid to Communists and fascists all over the world. We provided aid to the Contras, and the Shah of Iran and other despots to countless to mention and that dear Skipper was the larger point that I made that you missed!
By
The Lady Logician, at 9:49 PM
You weren't making that point at all. If you're just going to lie, then it isn't worth continuing the discussion. This blog pretty much sucks anyway!
By
Anonymous, at 10:36 PM
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