commentary
Please Honor Martin Luther King Jr Day–2023
Standard
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and I would like to offer a few of this extraordinary American’s quotations as a tribute to him. He was one of the finest, most decent, and empathetic people in the history of the United States of America. We should all remember him and honor his teaching, his legacy, and his call for justice for everyone.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
“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.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
A Few Quotations on Justice
Standard
(https://commons.wikimedia.org)
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
Elie Wiesel
“No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency.”
Theodore Roosevelt
(https://commons.wikimedia.org)
“When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“An injustice to one person is a crime against everyone, and we must always try to achieve true justice in the world.”
Charles F. French
Happy New Year–2023!
Standard
(Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)
As this year is approaching its end, I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. I am deeply grateful for my family, including the extended one, and my friends. Additionally, I am extremely grateful for are my readers on this blog. You are a disparate group, but you are also unfailingly intelligent, kind, and civil. I have also made several friendships here with people who live far away, and I value those connections.
To all my blog followers:
Thank you!
Charles F. French
(Photo by Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com)
And I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2023!
Happy New Year!
(Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com)
A Few Quotations on Kindness
Standard
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
Dalai Lama XIV
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Let us spread kindness this time and every time of year.” Charles F. French
I’m Back
Standard
Hello to everyone! You might have noticed that I have not been here for about a month, and I deeply missed the interaction with everyone. Unfortunately, life intruded with an unexpected announcement from our landlord that we had 30 days to move.
It was quite a stressful time, given the reality of the real estate market, but with the help of a friend, we were able to find a new place and move in! Yay! Now comes the unpacking, and I have over 2000 books!
I am back now, and I am looking forward to engaging with all of you again!
FDR Quotations
Standard
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”
“Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.”
Favorite Science Fiction Films: 7: The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Standard
The 1956 film The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is a seminal piece of cinema. This movie combined the theme of alien invaders with that of xenophobia and the fear of communists infiltrating American society. Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter starred in the film, and directed by Don Siegel, in an Allied Artists film. The film was based on a novel by Jack Finney called The Body Snatchers.
This black and white movie is atmospheric and establishes quickly a tone of distrust and disquiet, by creating a world in which normalcy seems just out of place. This questioning of normalcy, especially in the context of 1950s America, in which conformity was seen as a virtue, is a strength of the movie. In post World War Two America, many people lived in a segregated world, divided by race, class, and religion. Also, the United States was suffering through the hearings run by Senator Joe McCarthy, which were a modern version of witch hunts. The level of paranoia that was permeating American society is reflected in this film. Additionally, the possible effects of scientific research on humanity as well as the omnipresent nuclear threat also inform the tone of this film.
Certainly, there were people who opposed the insanity of the time, people such as the writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman, and the journalist Edgar R. Murrow, but I will discuss their courage in another post in the future.
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers has grown in popularity and has become recognized as one of the most important science fiction films of the 1950s, if not in American cinema as a whole. The idea of the loss of humanity behind the façade of a person’s face gives rise to the current explosion of zombie movies. This movie also gave America the term that would live in our consciousness of “pod people.” It is a brilliant movie, and one that I suggest that you see if you have not.
Quotations On Democracy For The 4th of July
Standard
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”
Isaac Asimov
“Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Our democratic country must maintain the separation of Church and State and move towards elimination of bigotry of all kinds. If we regress towards a far right view of the world, then the result will be the loss of that democracy and of our freedom. In the name of those who fought and died for our freedom, let us maintain American democracy.”
Charles F. French
Quotations on Fascism
Standard
“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Are you a communist?”
“No I am an anti-fascist”
“For a long time?”
“Since I have understood fascism.”
For Whom the Bell Tolls
“A fascist is one whose lust for money or power is combined with such an intensity of intolerance toward those of other races, parties, classes, religions, cultures, regions or nations as to make him ruthless in his use of deceit or violence to attain his ends.”
Henry Wallace
charles french words reading and writing 