Link Salad, the Monday After Bloody Sunday Edition
-- Finally I Hear a Politician Explain My Country Just the Way I Understand It - James Fallows, The Atlantic, Mar. 8, 2015
"Obama is obviously not the first person to formulate this thought. The continual re-making of America was a central theme for Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, and also Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the founders of our magazine. Twenty-five years ago, I even wrote what is essentially a book-length version of this speech, called More Like Us. And when our American Futures series re-launches on Monday, similar themes will be central to it. But the appeal to American exceptionalism via embracing our capacity for renewal, self-criticism, and inclusiveness is one I haven't heard this clearly from a public figure in many years."
-- Barack and Me, - Rembert Browne, Grantland, Mar. 9, 2015
"I’ve spent my entire life watching people who have had successful lives still get misty-eyed about blowing out that knee and never going pro; about coming up short and not qualifying for the Olympics; about not scoring high enough on that test to get into that school. People who have had more impactful lives because they came up short. People who will tell you that, ultimately, they’re happy they came up short. But people who will still openly admit it’s something they think about all the time."
"Obama is obviously not the first person to formulate this thought. The continual re-making of America was a central theme for Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, and also Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the founders of our magazine. Twenty-five years ago, I even wrote what is essentially a book-length version of this speech, called More Like Us. And when our American Futures series re-launches on Monday, similar themes will be central to it. But the appeal to American exceptionalism via embracing our capacity for renewal, self-criticism, and inclusiveness is one I haven't heard this clearly from a public figure in many years."
-- Barack and Me, - Rembert Browne, Grantland, Mar. 9, 2015
"I’ve spent my entire life watching people who have had successful lives still get misty-eyed about blowing out that knee and never going pro; about coming up short and not qualifying for the Olympics; about not scoring high enough on that test to get into that school. People who have had more impactful lives because they came up short. People who will tell you that, ultimately, they’re happy they came up short. But people who will still openly admit it’s something they think about all the time."