Daily Dialogue — September 28, 2012

“When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam, with no end in sight; when the richest nation in the world can’t manage its own economy; when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness; when a nation that has been known for a century for equality of opportunity is torn by unprecedented racial violence; when the president of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home without fear of a hostile demonstration, then it is time for new leadership for the United States of America.

As we look at America, we see cities enveloped in smoke and flame, millions of Americans crying out in anguish “Did we come all the way for this? Did American boys die in Normandy and Valley Forge for this?” I pledge to you that the current wave of violence will not be the wave of the future.

Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth, to find the truth, to speak the truth and to live the truth. A new voice is being heard across America today. It is not the voice of the protesters or the shouters. It is the quiet voice of the majority of Americans who’ve been forgotten. The non-shouters, the non-demonstrators. They’re the good people. They work hard and they save and they pay their taxes. Now, who are they? Let me tell you who they are. They’re in this audience by the thousands. They’re the white Americans and black Americans, Mexican Americans and Italian Americans. They’re the great silent majority and they have become angry, finally. Angry, not with hate, but angry, my friends, because they love America and they don’t like what’s happened to America these last four years.

Let us understand. North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that! I say to you tonight I say to you tonight we must have a new feeling of responsibility of self-discipline. We must look to renew state and local government. We must have a complete reform of a big, bloated federal government. Those of us in public service know we can have full prosperity in peacetime. Yes, we can cut the defense budget. We can reduce conventional forces in Europe. We can restore the natural environment. We can improve health care and make it more available to all people. And yes, we can have a complete reform of this government. We can have a new American revolution!”

— Richard Nixon (Anthony Hopkins), Nixon (1995), written by Stephen J. Rivele & Christopher Wilkinson & Oliver Stone.

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is acceptance speech, recommended by @TheBrokenCoco. Today’s suggestion by Teddy Pasternak.

Trivia: In an interview with “Premiere” magazine, Oliver Stone outlined many elements of Richard Nixon’s life and political decisions that informed his film. Amongst other things, Richard Nixon’s reserved personality was largely a function of the death of his beloved older brother Harold; Nixon grieved over the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy while also being aware he would have lost the 1964 Presidential election to JFK (if it had taken place) and the 1968 race to RFK; he recognized that the U.S. was going to enter an era of less prosperity and tried to end the Cold War for that reason; he was “lonely, isolated, kind of mad”; and ultimately he was both victim and villain.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Teddy’s commentary: “So much have changed in the world of politics in the past 44 years…”