Two Party Opera by Brian Carroll for June 08, 2020

Not much has changed in the last 126 year, has it?

This veteran’s capacity for hope is nearly exhausted. It is my fervent wish that something of greater actual impact than hope will arise from bloodied streets and the plight of the oppressed to give REASON for hope to exist.

Great work, Mr. Carroll.

Thank you AGAIN, Brian!

This seems as good a time as any to tell of a speech I once heard, about three ships as describing peoples and what makes a leader.

The first is a ship made of wood, about to embark on its voyage. It knows its destination, but has no timeline, no map, and no way to make course corrections. This ship most likely will sink in a storm before reaching its destination.

The second is made of silver, and knows its destination, and has a map. However, there is no timeline, so it floats aimlessly without bothering to make course corrections. If it reaches its destination it is more by accident.

Then there is the gold ship. It knows its destination, knows when it wants to reach it, has a map, and continually makes course corrections as needed, knowing full well that there may be rough seas ahead.

The eloquence, the charisma, of Mr. Douglass would be of inestimable value in our time.

A good way to know the value of education is to listen to a speech given by President Obama and one given by Trump.

I have been in the classroom for 32 years. Watching 4 decades of students progress has given me hope that we will get better.

Thanks, Brian! What an inspiring speech.

I recently discovered it in 1947 the US Congress was considering a national health insurance bill. It was defeated by the southern Democrats and their sympathizers who argued that the benefits would all go to THOSE people. After the civil rights act of the Johnson administration, Nixon’s Southern strategy folded those Dixiecrats into the republican party. After hearing this it became obvious why today’s Republicans are trying to destroy the ACA, and that we made so little progress on the racism that exists in this country.

Hmm, maybe Trump wasn’t wrong when he thought Frederick Douglass is still alive.

Perfect for the moment. Thank you, Brian.

Thank you for sharing these graduation speeches!

Douglass was quite the world traveler. He sailed to both Europe and the West Indies, among other locations. He would have been familiar with proper rigging of a ship for safe passage.

He would die just 5 months after giving this speech.

the lesson will be repeated until it is learned

If Drumpf should see this comic, he’s going to think Frederick Douglass is still alive! snark.

We wanna Calhoun Cartoon! He’s my favorite of all your characters.

I hope Mr. Carroll hasn’t gotten so depressed by the news that he’s given up.

This is magnificent and it pierces a human heart 126 years later