Category: Americana

From Mark Twain – Irreverence and Liberty and Donald Trump

In 1863 Mark Twain (born on November 30 in 1835) wrote: ” ……. we glorious Americans will occasionally astonish the God that created us when we get a fair start.”

With his ability to cut through and communicate to conservative America Donald Trump shows an irreverent ability to maintain his own free spirit which much of the world doesn’t understand.

He is Archie Bunker in the White House.

His followers love him for what he is.

How will he surprise us next?

Geoff Fox, 30 November, 2020, Down Under.

Independence and Modern Relationships – Annie Oakley Style

When America’s great hero Annie Oakley said, “Families are nothing other than the idolatry of duty.” and “Housework is work directly opposed to the possibility of human self-actualization.” she could have been reading from the modern feminist playbook.

I think she was way ahead of her time.

But Annie Oakley was no man-hater. She worked well with men all her life.

My friend Shelly of Houston seems to me to echo Annie’s spirit when she writes about getting free of a marriage destroyed by her ex-husband’s infidelity:

The American capacity for self correction constantly amazes me.

Robust freedom of speech is at the core of this strength.

I believe that, on many fronts, conservatism in America needs to reinvent itself to fulfull its essential role of preserving the best of America.

Geoff Fox, November 4, 2020, Down Under

Harry Houdini – Brain Management

Destruction of the social contract leaves me unsure of my place in this world.

In an earlier age, Freemason Harry Houdini was a magician – an escape artist.

He died on October 31st, 1926.

I seek clarity in the following two thoughts from Houdini:

All leaders have to work with what their followers believe.

Geoff Fox, 31st October, 2020, Down Under