Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
This is a post from historian John Fea’s blog which is well worth the read.
Peace and blessings,
Steve
A lot of conservatives liked Trump’s speech on Friday night. I am told that The Wall Street Journal gave it a positive review. I commented on the speech here, but I thought I would say a few more things about Trump’s use of history. My comments are in bold. THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. …
— Read on thewayofimprovement.com/2020/07/07/thinking-historically-about-trumps-mount-rushmore-speech/
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Hello Padre Steve,
I applaud your objective review of President Trump’s speech last week at Mount Rushmore. I know that you champion many liberal causes but that didn’t prevent you from making a clear-eyed commentary. Wish that this was the case when it came to the media and a US Senator. The Washington Post account of the speech begins “President Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore…” Great stuff that fits well into a lot of people’s agendas EXCEPT Mr. Trump actually made no reference to the Confederacy or its symbols whatsoever.
Senator Tammy Duckworth said that President Trump “spent all his time talking about dead traitors.” You don’t have to like Trump – or his speech – to acknowledge that she is actually lying. He DID praise Abraham Lincoln and condemn slavery. And he DID praise the founding fathers and the American Revolution, which I’m sure was offensive to those who believe the premise that the REAL reason behind the Revolution was to preserve slavery as doled out by The NY Times’ “1619 Project”, rather than being the world’s unparalleled great leap forward. He also mentions Ulysses S. Grant, abolitionists, and many others as well as “Andrew Jackson”. None of these people were “traitors”, that is, unless you are so biased that your lens is so cloudy that you are simply incapable of seeing straight.
As much as I don’t like very many things about Donald Trump (I didn’t even vote for him), I’m really more concerned about a press corps that brazenly lies. That Trump lies himself, and that he is often incoherent, or that he’s said some awful things over the last five years doesn’t change this. This was not a speech about Confederate monuments or traitors, it was a speech that honored the country. To quote the Wall Street Journal, “Trump’s ill-starred presidency is sustained only by the deranged dishonesty of his opponents.” I believe that is spot on.
All the best,
Jack
The four Presidents on Mount Rushmore must not have viewed the speech with favor. They were looking on rather stone faced.
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