Literature and Politics in America

At a time of eloquence and erudition, many speeches began with an excerpt from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, 

It was the age of wisdom, 

It was the age of foolishness, 

It was the epoch of belief, 

It was the epoch of incredulity, 

It was the season of Light, 

It was the season of Darkness, 

it was the spring of hope, 

It was the winter of despair…”

At the time of JFK’s inauguration, Robert Frost spoke. He reminded us of the courage and determination it takes to choose and stick to whatever road we choose in life. These qualities, regardless of what road we choose, lead to self fulfillment and success. 

At Bill Clinton’s inauguration, Maya Angelou

recited the spellbinding “On the Pulse of the Morning.” 

“But today, the rock cries out to us,

clearly, forcefully,

Come, you may stand upon my back and free your distant destiny.”

Maya Angelou also wrote;

“They will forget what you said,

They will forget what you did,

They will never forget

How you made them feel.”

These times of eloquence and erudition are past but Faulkner reminds us that "The past is never dead. It's is not even past."

How do you feel?