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Posted on 03/29/2019 7:59:41 AM PDT by poconopundit
How do you explain America in simple terms: to a teenager, to a person whose English ability is limited, or to people who are work with their hands not by manipulate words?
Toward the end of Dinesh D'Souza's wonderful 16-minute speech to the Candace Owens' Blexit patriots in March 2019, he gives a beautiful and memorable parable on what the American Dream is about.
Actually as part of the penance for my sins against the Obama administration, I was sentenced to teach English to immigrants. And one time a woman in my class said, "Dinesh, since you're into politics and all that, can you tell me what the basic difference is between the two sides -- the left the right? How would you summarize that. . . ?"
And I realized: I can't appeal to the American Constitution. She's never heard of it. I can't talk in the normal language of conservatism. I actually have to try to put this in the most basic way possible.
And so I said this.
Basically, in America there are two sides -- two parties. There is the party of the ladder and there is the party of the rope.
So what's the party of the Ladder?
The government does have a job, and it's to hold the ladder!
And what that means is to protect our rights, to enforce contracts, and to be non-discriminatory. So the goverment has the job of holding the ladder. It’s our job to climb it.
Now how far you get on the ladder is going to depend on you and your creativity and your hard work. And it's going to depend a little bit on luck.
But at the end of the day, most of it is going to be earned achievement. You'll get some place on the ladder and be able to look down and say, "I did this. I played this deck of cards I was dealt and was able to achieve ‘this’ in life."
And that goes kind of like this.
Down here you have all the immigrants and minorities. And there's kind of tall building. And there's a group of guys -- let's call them Democrats -- on the top of the building.
And they said, "Worry not, you people down there. We're going to be sending down a rope for you. And you're job is really easy. You just have to hold the rope."
So you can see. On first glance, this looks very easy. Right? Climbing a ladder requires climbing. Holding a rope just requires holding on.
So you go, "I'll go for the rope!"
But as you go for the rope, it suddenly begins to dawn on you, if you think about it: that you are very dependent on the people who are supposed to pull you up. In fact, if they let go, down you go.
So not only do you have this dependency, but then you notice a second and even more dismaying fact. You notice that of all the other people who have gone for the rope before you, not a whole lot of them -- maybe none -- ever seem to get to the top.
The Democrats appear to pull, and then hold. And when they hold, you're kind of caught in the middle. You are in no-man's land. You're too far from the ground to let go, cause you might crash. And yet, nobody is pulling you up. You're stuck.
And then it crosses your mind, "Maybe they like me that way!"
Maybe they want me stuck, because as long as I'm stuck I'm totally dependent on them. Because in return for the meager crumbs they're offering me, they want something from me that's free for me to give.
But I don't have to give it. And that's my vote.
And I think, the only price you pay for being a person of the rope, at the end of the day, is not only dependency, but a certain degradation of your soul.
Because you're achievements in life no longer depend on your efforts. You don't have that pride in saying, "I did it".
And I think that ultimately this message is a very empowering, exhilarating message that we have to share.
We're got to convince people they should be people of the ladder.
But not just preach to them, but show them the ladders! We've got to show them there are ladders. And in some cases, we may have to show them how to climb a ladder. j
But if we do that, then our side can't lose. The truth is on our side, and if we can combine that with a message of hope and prosperity, we can begin to see that day that Reagan, in a way, just dreamed about.
It’s a day in which all Americans are achieving the American Dream, a day Reagan called "Morning in America".
Thank you very much.
Quite a memorable 5 minute parable by Dinesh D’Souza. Shades of Thomas Paine and Martin Luther King in this brief speech.
I like it.
I have always liked Dinesh.
“with their hands not by manipulate words?”
Is that a typo?
“with their hands not by manipulate words?”
Is that a typo?
Manipulate | Definition of Manipulate by Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manipulate
Definition of manipulate. transitive verb. 1 : to treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner manipulate a pencil manipulate a machine. 2a : to manage or utilize skillfully quantify our data and manipulate it statistically— S. L. Payne.
As usual right on point.
bkmk
Agreed,
Ladder or Rope.
I can see that easily.
More like
Ladder or a noose!
we have plenty of uses for rope
Dinesh is a man of many memorable quotes. He has earned his pedestal and has every right to be there. Never stop Mr. D’Souza. You are an asset to this great nation! Thank You!
Simply and Biblically the rope people are putting their trust in the arm of flesh. We are cautioned not to do so.
Stupendous analogy, magyars4!
Worth watching. Thanks!
marktwain, I’m working on a vanity about Mark Twain — and finding many comparisons to Trump.
Listening to Twain’s great “Life on the Mississippi” and several of his short and humorous stories: The Million Pound Note; Tom Quartz, the Cat; A Dog’s Tail; and the Jumping Frog of Callaveras County.
These stories are just as powerful today as they were in the late 1800s.
Having a quality narrator of his stories adds a lot to these stories. I listen during my commute. Perfect.
I picked up the Mark Twain Audio CD Collection published by Harper Collins at my local library.
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060002718/mark-twain-audio-cd-collection/
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Mark Twin, Dinesh D'Souza are not alone in memorable quotes:
Everything is changing.
People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.
... Will Rogers
Yes, not much has changed.
“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
Mark Twain
Yes, not much has changed.
“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”
Mark Twain
Excellent. Thanks for posting the link.
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