Past her prime - Doris Kearns Goodwin
A perfect example of the progressive mind at work -- out of touch with reality.
From
Breitbart:
Doris Kearns Goodwin at Gettysburg: A Few Inappropriate Remarks
On Sunday, a stunned audience sat in silence as Doris Kearns Goodwin turned the keynote address at the opening ceremony for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg into a political lecture focusing on women's and gay rights.
Missing from much of her keynote: Gettysburg.
Self-centered, insular, and oblivious to the occasion, the historian who was infamously caught plagiarizing merely recycled much of what she has said before about herself in previous speeches. And her rambling, self-promoting, and borderline inappropriate lecture touched upon nearly everything except for the heroic sacrifices made on that battlefield.
In so doing, she desecrated the hallowed land on which she spoke, dishonored Gettysburg's honored dead, and disrespected the nearly 8,000 Americans in attendance who did not come to Gettysburg to hear about her life's story and a progressive history lecture.
Before even referencing President Abraham Lincoln, Kearns Goodwin started her speech by mentioning President Lyndon Johnson. In fact, more of her speech was devoted to Johnson and herself than to Lincoln, Grant, Lee, and Gettysburg. Boasting about all the presidents she has researched, Kearns Goodwin said her only worry was that in her afterlife all of the presidents about whom she has written or plagiarized will confront her to complain and point out inaccuracies in her work.
She said the first person who would confront her in her afterlife would be Lyndon Johnson, who she said would scream at her, "how come that book on the Kennedys is twice as long as the book you wrote about me?"
After briefly--and in an obligatory manner--actually mentioning Gettysburg and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Kearns Goodwin could not stop herself from rehashing her civil rights stories.
Of course, all of the stories centered around her. She talked about how she worked for Lyndon Johnson and met her husband while working for him.
Excuuuuse me. This is the opening ceremony for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and she was asked to be the keynote speaker and she rattles on about how she met her husband while working for Lyin' Bastard Johnson?
The author of this post - Tony Lee closes with these thoughts:
As an historian chosen for the honor of keynoting the opening ceremonies for the solemn--and special--anniversary of the most important and famous battle fought in the Western Hemisphere, Kearns Goodwin had a duty to take up the task of Oliver Wendell Holmes and "bear the report to those who come after."
Instead, she slapped the faces of those in attendance by mistaking the occasion for an alumni weekend speech or a Georgetown cocktail party. Throughout the Gettysburg festivities, Americans emphasized how important it was to remember the country's honored dead, echoing what President Ronald Reagan said in his Farewell Address when he spoke about the necessity of an "informed patriotism" that could only be learned when one generation teaches the next about America's exceptional past.
But when supposedly esteemed historians like Kearns Goodwin use such a cherished occasion to shoehorn modern--and unrelated--social issues into the Gettysburg narrative, it makes it more difficult for the nation to have an "informed patriotism."
Kearns Goodwin's keynote--for style and substance--can only be given a failing grade. And this time, it was not even for plagiarism.
Exactly -- this was not a cocktail party, this was an incredibly solemn occasion and deserved much better -- some actual historical research and relevancy.
Posted by DaveH at July 1, 2013 10:04 PM