Ulysses Trump Joins Millions of Heroic Hearts to Take Back America

Free Republic ^ | 3/2/2016 | PoconoPundit

[poconopundit]

Come, my friends, tis not too late to seek a newer world...  Some work of noble note, may yet be done, not unbecoming men who strove with Gods. These immortal words from Alfred Lord Tennyson's masterpiece poem, Ulysses, echo today's epic struggle to save our country from corruption and make America great again. Ulysses (or Odysseus in Greek) was, of course, the hero and conqueror of the Trojan War that Homer wrote about in his Iliad tale of Greek mythology. Tennyson's Ulysses poem, however, is not about the Trojan War at all.  Rather it's about Ulysses' life as an old man and "idle King" sitting around and getting bored.  Ulysses is restless and longs for those swash-buckling days of youth when he could roam with a "hungry heart" and drink the "delight of battle" with other warriors like Achilles. The point of Tennyson's poem, I think, is that old warriors never lose their nobleness.  Though Ulysses grew old and grey, the heroic heart of his youth stayed with him.  Sure, time had taken away much of his physical strength, but there still burned inside him a desire to achieve and do "some work of noble note". Old man Ulysses lives today in Donald Trump, a man whose been a warrior his entire adult life.  Trump conquered Troy long, long ago when he became the best big-city real estate developer of his generation.  And he went on to succeed in hotels, apartments, casinos, business books, television, golf courses, and several other ventures.  At one point, his endurance and creative powers were severely tested by a deep recession, but he prevailed, saving his company and moving it to higher and higher levels of achievement. So imagine a guy with this much success — a multi-billionaire who loves golf, family, and all the luxuries of life — jumping into a YUGE political battle at the ripe age of 69.  Imagine the courage it takes to press forward when the full force of the establishment government, national media, and Wall Street is allied against you!  It would make even Ulysses think twice! And yet, as heroic a figure as Trump is, he cannot do the job alone.  If Trump is truly to return America to its everyday citizens, then "we the people" need to step up and help him.  Heroic hearts among us must rise above the ridicule and political correctness to help Trump fight the many tough political battles to come. The good news is that millions of heroic hearts are indeed out there and have spoken!  If Super Tuesday proves anything, it proves that.  But our larger challenge now is to support Trump beyond the secret ballot — to stand behind him openly and be a constant supporter of the revolution Trump is leading. And I think now is also a time of special calling for those of us who are Baby Boomers.  Younger citizens can only imagine what America was like when it was truly great.  We Baby Boomers, though, actually lived at a time when America believed in self-reliance — and the dependent class of "takers" represented a much smaller fraction of voters.  In our black and white TV sets, we saw Americans walk on the moon.  When President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, Ask what you can do for your country", our hearts swelled with pride.  Our parents instilled Spartan virtues in us like hard work and dedication.  Many of us even had Dads who fought in World War II or the Korean War. So it's time to take out that rusty sword and polish it.  Time to answer Tennyson's call to boldly strive for that "new and better world". Let's "sail beyond the sunset" and return America to the land of heroes, champions, and greatness we remember from our youth.   After all, champions know a thing or two about how "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

Ulysses - Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. I cannot rest from travel; I will drink Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vext the dim sea. I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known,— cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,— And drunk delight of battle with my peers, Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. I am a part of all that I have met; Yet all experience is an arch wherethro' Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades For ever and for ever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use! As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains; but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail; There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,— That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed. Free hearts, free foreheads,— you and I are old; Old age hath yet his honor and his toil. Death closes all; but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks; The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down; It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,— One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 — 1892) was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign. Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, such as Break, Break, Break, The Charge of the Light Brigade, and Crossing the Bar.  Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses. Tennyson's was very sensitive to the musical qualities of words to emphasise his rhythms and meanings is sensitive.  He was a craftsman who polished and revised his manuscripts extensively.
Ulysses and The Sirens In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Ulysses was curious to hear the Sirens' song, and so, on the advice of Circe, he had all of his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast.  He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he would beg.  When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they bound him tighter.  When they had passed out of earshot, Ulysses demonstrated with his frowns to be released.
Thomas Moran (1837 — 1926) from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. A talented illustrator and exquisite colorist, Moran was hired as an illustrator at Scribner's Monthly.  During the late 1860s, he was appointed the chief illustrator for the magazine, a position that helped him launch his career as one of the premier painters of the American landscape, particularly the American West.  He created many exquisite paintings of the Grand Canyon.

[Psalm 144]

Great read. Thank you.

[Psalm 144]

And again! Bravo, sir.

[Harpotoo]

Has-Beens don’t really matter!

[HarleyLady27]

You my friend, have done something that very few people have the talent to do, and that is ‘point on’ in such beautiful words and examples....

The history that we have lived through, mine since 1944, the walk on the moon, seeing how Martin Luther King helped bring the Country together, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his 1000 days as POTUS, how Ronald Reagan again united this Country and brought foreign countries to our side...

Thank you for this special tribute to another great person that built his empire by hard work, and is so wealthy with knowledge of life and is willing to thank America for giving him that opportunity and now he wants to re pay by Making America Great Again!!!

[Harpotoo]

America is never at loss for Heroes! Thank GOD!

[Harpotoo]

And what’s your excuse for being such a hater of your fellow AmeriCANs!

[Harpotoo]

What if, what if, what if you are wrong? Him being in the WH will clarify all. Give the MAN a chance!-)

[poconopundit]

Thank you, HL27.  And thanks for being the passionate crusader and intelligent rabble rouser you are :- )

[afsnco]

I hope I’m wrong. It just seems that a lot of Trump fans are projecting their own hopes and dreams on him, when he was a leftist until very recently. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for a conservative victory.

Will you admit you were wrong, that you were duped, if worse comes to worst?

[Magnum44]

If its Hillary vs Cruz and Cruz loses, will all the Cruz or lose diehards admit they were wrong? Ok, that’s a what if, but did those that sat on their hands and let Obama beat Romney and McCain ever admit they were wrong? The recipe for conservative victory sure seems like its been a failure for some time now...Can you blame people for being fed up with establishment?

[smoothsailing]

Excellent!

Pay no attention to those who presume to tell you who not to support or vote for they resent anyone who disagrees with them. They know nothing of respect for liberty and grow increasingly antagonistic as their desperation becomes a cancer on their daily life. Best to marginalize such people or just ignore them.

[HereInTheHeartland]

Good post.
Our nation has been great BECAUSE our national DNA tells us to distrust all politicians.
People are projecting all kinds of things on to Trump. Making him into someone that he may or may not be.
Unhealthy.

[afsnco]

I understand how people can be fed up with the establishment. I voted against my establishment congressional representative yesterday.

I also understand what you’re saying, but I’m not talking about election results. I’m talking about what Trump will do if he receives the reins of government.

Since he’s been a leftist most of his life, I have grave doubts that he’ll govern as a conservative. I hope you can see how I could be skeptical about that. His newfound conservatism appears to me to be a politically convenient conversion that has no basis in his core values. In fact, I don’t see any core values in him at all. It appears everything is negotiable. “The Art of the Deal.”

If that’s the case, he could unconstitutionally try to negotiate away things like the 1st Amendment, the 2nd Amendment, etc., in order to get something he wants more. Unfounded? Probably. But it all comes down to trust. I just have trouble trusting that a lifelong leftist can change so completely just in time for a presidential election. Color me cynical and skeptical.

But like I said, I hope I’m wrong, and I hope you’re right, if he’s elected. I just hope you’re honest enough with yourself to see that there’s strong potential for a monumental betrayal of all the conservatives that support him.

[poconopundit]

Hey, thanks!

"Try the rough water as well as the smooth.  Rough water can teach lessons worth knowing."  R. W. Emerson

The tempest of the last week is over.  And now I think Trump's campaign is under full sail!

[Magnum44]

While I don't see Donald Trump as someone who is as “constitutionally educated” as Ted Cruz, I also don't see him as leftist.

I think his life has been in large part about him, and while I thinks its great when people view life from the perspective that there are bigger things than ones own achievements, everyone’s path to get there is different.

As to core values, Trump is a nationalist. He believes that people should work for a living, and hard work (or smart work) deserves reward. Sometimes that's self centered, but its a value non-the-less.

In listening to what he says, not so much what others say about him, despite his gaffs, he is pro-US, pro-success, pro-family. I believe he understands the importance of having a legal system that is followed and respected, as otherwise business suffers. His tough talk is a big part of his personality, which sometimes rubs me the wrong way, but I think, once in office, surrounded by the best advisers at his disposal, he will execute according to the law (unlike those in power today who circumvent the law at their convenience).

As far as being a cynic, I don't completely trust any of them. And professional politicians are the least to be trusted at this point, IMO. So its always our job to hold them to their promises, but the system is so broken that the people seem to have no recourse to do so anymore. The establishment is afraid of what would come with Trump, that is an accounting for the misdeeds. Otherwise they would not be in such a fit over his success in the primaries.

[afsnco]

Thanks very much for the reasoned response. I’m afraid a lot of debates with Trump supporters quickly devolve into the “you’re a poopy head” level of discourse.

I agree completely that Trump the Republican presidential candidate generally isn’t considered a leftist. But there’s more to it than that. Until last year, for instance, he was on record supporting the Clinton assault weapon ban. Just recently he expressed support for Planned Parenthood, and said that his rabidly pro-abortion sister, who’s a fan of partial birth abortion, would make a great Supreme Court justice. He refused to support the First Amendment Defense Act (along with Jeb Bush) which would protect Americans from being punished by the feds for their religious convictions. All those things are things leftists would say or do, at least to me. I realize you may disagree.

[Magnum44]

BTW, unless I am completely misreading your screen name, thank you for your service.

[afsnco]

Thanks very much. You must have a military background to catch that.

[V K Lee]

Thank you Pocono. This Trump supporter awoke this morning with a smile. Not only did our Trump smash the party last night, he has begun the attempt to mend fences with those who might be of help in the slaying of the dragon. Even Lancelot traveled with fellow swordsmen, knowing he would not be victorious alone. All in all, a very good evening for the Trump and the trumpets. We are all blowing our horns! Rise and advance, stumble and fall: we are all in this together. If the country is to go down it goes down with all; invaders and citizens alike.

[patriot08]

He's an American and he loves his country.

He's not 'owned' by anybody.he's financing his own campaign.

He's not a Washington insider or an establishment politician

He's an ASTONISHINGLY successful businessman and CEO- and charismatic.

His remarkable children are a testament to his character and abilities

Donald Trump was the ONLY one with guts enough to stand up and speak out against the corrupt in Washington, to say what we the people have been so angry and screaming about-only to be ignored.

WE HAVE ALL BEEN SAYING WE NEED ANOTHER AMERICAN REVOLUTION- WEll, IT'S HERE AND DONALD TRUMP STARTED IT AND HE'S LEADING IT. HE TELLS THE CORRUPT, THE RINOS AND LIBS WHAT WE CAN'T.

DONALD IS OUR VOICE

is a brilliant business man and he will surround himself with the most brilliant, talented America has to offer-per his cabinet and advisers. THIS is the kind of man we need to run the country.

He Will make America great again. He will make America RESPECTED again.

He WILL put up the wall.

He WILL put a stop to the Muslim invasion of America.

He WILL remedy the illegal alien problem

He CAN make America great again

He CAN make America RESPECTED again.

He will keep his promises. He does not want to sully the Trump name, but to glorify it and go down in history as one of our greats

To repeat;the revolution many of you have wanted and predicted because we are so angry at the corrupt government is here. It was started and is being led by Donald. Don’t let him down