-- By Tom Phillips
America survived the Civil War with the gravitas of Lincoln's speeches and the caritas of Whitman's poetry to bind up our wounds. We fought World War One -- "The War to End all Wars"-- egged on by Woodrow Wilson's visionary slogans. We slogged though the Great Depression and World War Two heartened by Roosevelt's radio chats, and First Lady Eleanor's newspaper columns. Kennedy and Reagan pictured castles in the air, and Obama could be stirring, when stirred.
In 2020, we were on our own. Rhetoric was barely a memory, giving way to the grunts of combat: Curses and challenges, defiance and dares; trash talk, mayday calls, last gasps and pleas for mercy.
What they said:
"It is what it is.." Donald Trump on August 31, downplaying US deaths from Covid-19 ".. because you are what you are." Joe Biden, blaming him in the first presidential debate September 29.
“I can’t breathe.” George Floyd, as he lay dying under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin May 25. When Biden was declared president-elect November 7, CNN commentator Van Jones broke down on camera, weeping for his children and friends. "It wasn't just George Floyd," he said through a flood of tears. "A lot of people …felt they couldn't breathe."
"Kill me!" Luis Vasquez, a neighborhood resident who fired gunshots into the air in front of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, following a Christmas concert on the Cathedral steps December 12. Police shot him dead. The gunman's sister said he'd been "damaged" by prison time in the 1990s, and his mental state had worsened in the pandemic.
"Please, call the cops." Spoken and recorded by Christian Cooper, a black man birdwatching in Central Park, on the same day George Floyd was killed in May. Cooper had asked a woman to put her dog on a leash. She responded by calling 911 and telling police that an “African-American man” was threatening her. The birdwatcher knew such white lies have meant prison or death for many black men. Still he challenged his accuser and was vindicated by the video.
