Powerful paragraph written to Potus 47 by Former President of Poland Lech Walesa referencing Ronald Reagan, a legit good old days GOP president.
“We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and America’s financial commitment, the collapse of the Soviet empire would not have been possible. President Reagan recognized that millions of enslaved people suffered in Soviet russia and the countries it had subjugated, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their defense of democratic values with their freedom. His greatness lay, among other things, in his unwavering decision to call the USSR an “Empire of Evil” and to fight it decisively. We won, and today, the statue of President Ronald Reagan stands in Warsaw, facing the U.S. Embassy.”
With respect, what do you know about war? I carried out my ministry in the Congo, in Baghdad and Kabul. I’ve seen the lines of the dead and wounded, Christian and Muslim.
When you say we have to fight, what is it you think we’re fighting? You think it’s those deluded men who had carried out these terrible acts today? No, my brother.
The thing you’re fighting is here… inside each and every one of us, if we give in to hate now, if we speak of “sides” instead of speaking for every man and woman.
Forgive me, but these last few days we have shown ourselves to be small petty men…we have seemed concerned only with ourselves, with Rome, with these elections, with power. But things are not the Church. The Church is not tradition. The Church is not the past. The Church is what we do next.
This is the most telling photo I’ve seen — Trump/Vance berating a wartime leader fighting against invasion directly in front of a bust of Churchill. It looks like Churchill is seated in the back, watching Trump kill the very US-Europe alliance that Churchill helped forge.
Why was the Oval Office exchange so humiliating to watch? It’s because every American alive today was born after the Greatest Generation led America’s rise to global leadership. What we saw yesterday was a surrender that could very well lead to American decline.
What we saw was a retreat from three basic pillars of American leadership: reliability, values, and impact. These are pillars that have been built over generations – from Americans landing on the beaches of Normandy onwards.
RELIABILITY: After Vance’s Munich speech, a Euro leader asked me, “If Russia attacks a NATO nation, would Trump respond to Article 5 defense?” We got our answer yesterday, despite fact that Article 5 was only ever used to defend America after 9/11. I didn’t hear Vance say “Thank you” too in his speech.
If America isn’t reliable – if we can’t be trusted to hold true to our word – then why would our adversaries believe that we’d defend our allies? Why would our allies trust us with intelligence that could be used to defend ourselves? Why would they come to our defense?
VALUES: Earlier this week, the US voted against a UN resolution calling for Russia to end its illegal invasion. Walking away from our values is not just a retreat from American leadership, it’s a reversal in everything people have fought for over generations.
Putting democracies before dictators is an American value. Standing up for our partners under attack is an American value. Never surrendering to bullies who want to hoard power at the expense of people who just want freedom and opportunity is an American value.
IMPACT: That’s why Churchill came to America 8 decades ago, to remind us of our leadership role and the impact it has around the world. To tell us that when American leadership retreats, our enemies fill the void.
Churchill reminded us that when America steps up:
“The subjugated peoples of Europe to lift up their heads again in hope. They have put aside forever the shameful temptation of resigning themselves to the conqueror’s will. Hope has returned to the hearts of scores of millions of men and women, and with that hope there burns the flame of anger against the brutal, corrupt invader.”
Trump should think of Churchill not as just a prop in the Oval Office, but as a reminder that American strength comes from our ability to forge a coalition together. It’s not about bullying, it’s about leading.
I always enjoy being a judge for the long standing Westfield Sights and Sounds festival. Seeing and hearing so many talented young folks is inspiring; some really dazzled me this year. And it’s always a fun time with my judging bestie Carrie Jendza and our new pal this year Michael Cali. Giddy up #sightsandsounds #westfieldnj
BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH HAYDN Holy déjà vu, Batman. It was back to the future for me tonight as a singer. As we worked on the Haydn Creation at Cathedral, my larynx was transported back to the last time I did the whole work in college. Before my recalcitrant throat found its core sound and I learned how to ride the hefty horse that is my dramatic soprano cords, I used to sing like a light soprano above F#5; probably trying to emulate my fabulous mom. It was wild to sing these same florid, high tessitura passages tonight and feel that familiar muscle memory. This time around it definitely took a lot more breath, less sound mass, and planned dynamics. It was fun to take this trip back in time. #akintsucrooner #haydn #dejavu
Fellow classical singers, I give you tonight’s art song vocal coaching tale. My jedi vocal coach has just the needed piano side manner to guide my artist brain on the right path.
Insights/Reminders included:
Singing (ö) for french (u) really helps pronunciation.
Nasal french consonants “m, n, and ng” are omitted when singing the text because their function is to make the vowel nasal.
It’s extremely helpful when syllabifying to just move over the consonant visually during elision.
I have found that my midwest American tongue loves to add extra consonants where they don’t belong. Tis an enigma.
There’s an inherent musical spaciousness when the vocal line and piano arpeggios coexist that just makes sense when you feel it…..as the kids would say “makes you feel some kinda way”.
Late German Romantic music and my voice are longtime bedfellows.
Help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only you.
