Bizarre, Politics, Society

Lies Like a Rug: New Obama Rug Has Historical Quote Wrong

It appears that the Obama White House is intent on sweeping history literally under the rug after the new presidential rug was found to have a historical quote wrong. The quote attributed to Martin Luther King was actually the words of abolitionist Theodore Parker who will now have his misattributed words walked over by every visitor to the Oval Office.

The quote is “[t]he arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” King, however, was not the source of these inspiring words. They were the work of a Boston abolitionist and Unitarian minister. Parker was an incredible writer and a tireless advocate for the end of slavery. He never lived to see it. He died at age 49 in 1860 — shortly before the Civil War.

King never claimed to be the author of the words and gave credit to Parker.

The original quote from 1853 was

“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”

Theodore Parker, “Of Justice and Conscience,” in Ten Sermons of Religion, (Boston: Crosby, Nichols, & Company,1853).

In the end, he would likely take the slight in good fashion. After all, he told people “[n]ever violate the sacredness of your individual self-respect.” Amen, Brother.

Source: Washington Post

Jonathan Turley

104 thoughts on “Lies Like a Rug: New Obama Rug Has Historical Quote Wrong”

  1. Tootie:

    As Chef Ramsey would say: “Lady, you’re talkin’ out your arsehole.”

    You should really get your facts straight so you don’t keep sounding so absurd.

    Fact: Giving 3/4 of a trillion with no strings to Rebublican dominated banksters & Wall Street swindlers is only evidence of redistributing wealth to the rich & undeserving, not the other way around. This policy was designed by Bush and carried out faithfully by Obama.

    The same could be said for Obama’s allowing the continuation of the grotesque military budget ramped up under Bush and escalation of the war in Afghanistan which redistributes wealth to a handful of parasitic corporations — war profiteers really, who if there were any justice in this world would be tried.

    “Our system” you mentioned doesn’t really protect squat anymore thanks to fascists like Bush. It didn’t prevent the elimination under Bush of the Great Writ of Habeas Corpus which has been civilization’s cornerstone since the 1300’s.

    Just watch & weep below over the facts then come back and tell us some more about what “our system” protects with 9 out of 10 of the Bill of Rights” effectively terminated by the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8BqvJO5t4k

    Bush eliminated Habeas Corpus Tootie. Nobody disputes this fact. Obama hasn’t lifted a finger to restore the Great Writ and never will. Nobody will restore it until the people in this country realize that we have only one political party, the party of big business, with two factions bickering over how best to screw the American people.

  2. Bryon: Sorry, it’s too late at night to be typing well.

    Instead of this: My values teach something else and they don’t include aiming at gun and you and stealing your money for my agenda.I don’t believe you have that right. When you say “we” you are are “you”.

    I meant to type:

    My values teach something else and they don’t include aiming a gun at you and stealing your money for my agenda. I don’t believe you have that right. When you say “we” you are saying “I”.

    In other words: speak for yourself. My moral code regarding charity is love thy neighbor as thyself. In other words my direct neighbors. Not Somalians, or Pakistanis, or Californians. It is Kathy next door. And Debbie across the street. I watch them and they watch me. I cannot save the world and neither can you. It is irrational to think you can. It is what only a God or tyrant can do. You have got to understand that your view is irrational because it requires you to point a gun at me and have control over me. I want to be free from you and designs on me.

    How is it that you haven’t figured this out?

  3. Byron:

    You said:

    “We must provide essentials first. We must meet the critical needs of the people-health care, affordable housing, etc., then we can produce luxury goods. Provide work for those willing to work and give the farmers land that is idle. The American foreign policy that today sells what we have at below-market rates must be completely transformed and must focus on the American peoples need for jobs.”

    What you are saying here is that you will force me at gunpoint to live according to your values. My values teach something else and they don’t include aiming at gun and you and stealing your money for my agenda.

    I don’t believe you have that right. When you say “we” you are are “you”. You are free to give all your money away, but when you think you are free to give my money away, you are being criminally-minded.

    If you would like to answer, I am wondering what were your parents like? Do you remember your grandparents or know what their religious background is if any? I’m always curious about where Americans like you get the moral belief that other peoples stuff belongs to you.

  5. Karl:

    What bones Obama does not have is a dictatorship bone. That is what prevents him from exercising his Marxist physique to its full strength. Our system prevents him from being the Marxist he is. It is not he that prevents it, the system does. Lucky us.

    We have many evidences to point to. His statement about redistribution. His loathing of people with money (except when they give it to him). His seizure of nearly 1/7th of our economy. His membership in the Democratic Party.

    Hayek writes in the preface of his 1976 edition of the Road to Serfdom:

    “At the time I wrote, Soicalism meant unambiguously the nationalization of the means of production and the central economic planning which this made possible and necessary. In this sense Sweden, for instance, is today very much less socialistically organized than Great Britain or Austria, though Sweden is commonly regarded as much more socialistic. THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT SOCIALISM HAS COME TO MEAN CHIEFLY THE EXTENSIVE R E D I S T R I B U T I O N OF INCOMES THROUGH TAXATION AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE WELFARE STATE. In the latter kind of socialism the effects I discuss in this book are brought about more slowly, indirectly, and imperfectly. I believe that the ultimate outcome tends to be very much the same, although the process by which it is brought about is not quite the same as that describe in this book.” page xxiii

    In other words Obama is part of this “more slowly” and imperfect and indirect socialism/Marxism. This means, of course that all Democrats are Marxists.

    Collectivism: a “deliberate organization of the labors of society for a definite social goal”(page 63). For example, the health care heist.

    The government has taken control over education, homes, and now health. This is virtually our most important spheres of our private lives. Power over health will lead to control of the food supply (government will punish us for what we eat or don’t eat). People will not tolerate, for example, obese people costing them more money (taxes) and this will lead to totalitarian tyranny reaching into our cupboards and fridge.

    This is not liberty. And it is not American.

  6. Elaine:

    Family values was a grassroots movement that caught adulterers like Newt, Armey, and Vitter off guard. Just because they were not interested in these things doesn’t mean the rank and file Republicans shouldn’t be or shouldn’t try to promote them. I hope you are not advocating that people shouldn’t recommend “family values”.

    What kind of moral code do you subscribe to and does it have a mechanism for forgiveness of civil transgressions? Is there a mechanism for redemption? The way Democrats always point these things out after people apologize for them makes one wonder if they have flawed moral codes which disallow simple mercy after a person turns from their error.

  8. Former LEO:

    The comments about your friend are indeed strange. It sounds like he listens to Art Bell rather than Jesus Christ.

    Maybe he reads a corrupt translation of the New Testament based on the Hebrew text? Here is good explanation about the inadequacies of the wrong translations.

    http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/waite-fourfold1.html

    Or perhaps he doesn’t read his bible?

    Anyway, here is a good summary of proofs that the New Testament teaches NOT to set dates for the rapture as your very confused friend has done.

    http://www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Ice-WhytheBibleStillProhi.pdf

  9. FFL: Amen! (And I mean that in a good, non-religious way.) I’m still looking for a Mayan to ask him about their prediction of the end of the World in 2012. If they were such great prognosticators, why didn’t they foresee their own demise and find a way to prevent it? I hereby predict that the World will NOT end in 2012. Everyone can send me an appropriate gift of thanks on January 1, 2013.

  10. Tootie,

    Although others and I are often very critical of your comments—with my emphasis on your silly, irrational religious beliefs—do remember that your views are welcome and contribute to the debates and discussions.

    I have a good friend in his 70s who “believed” that the ‘Rapture’ would occur on the 8th, 9th or 10th of this month. Of course, such illogical nonsense did not occur yesterday or today, nor will it occur tomorrow by close of business, Pacific Daylight Time, or whenever any christian traveler traverses easterly across the International Dateline, thus repeating the previous day to allow another ‘stab’ at the Rapture’s trumpet a’blowin’.

    When I asked this otherwise intelligent, accomplished, life-experienced man what would happen if his predictions were wrong, he said, “Look for it next year…” Absurd religious beliefs have a strange and perilous stranglehold over rational thought for so many otherwise reasonable people shackled by any of the myriad worldwide faiths involving the supernatural.

  11. W=c,

    “just a thought BiL…when pyramids ‘walk’ …. the capstones become the ‘new’ base…”

    A valid point.

  12. The Pyramids stand because of the strength at the widest part of the base, not the capstones.
    ——————————-
    just a thought BiL…when pyramids ‘walk’ …. the capstones become the ‘new’ base…

  14. Karl Friedrich:

    This is war of money against labor, capital against the people, the forces of the rich against those of human progress. And labor, and thus the people, and thus progress will win! All of conservatives support cannot stop it.

  15. Tootie. News Flash. Obama doesn’t have a Marxist bone in his body.

    Marxists don’t let insurance companies write health reform bills, nor would they greenlight more troops and money wasted in Mid-eastern quagmires that were started by lying imperialists.

    Marxists wouldn’t keep Bush’s promise of bailing out incompetent parasite bankers to the tune of 3/4 of a trillion dollars with no strings or public accountability.

    Nor would Marxists let British Petroleum call the shots in the Gulf Oil Spill.

    Fact is the vast majority of the super rich, that is the top 2%, got their money the old fashioned way, they inherited it, and they inherited it from people who got it not through hard work but through this American kleptocracy disguised as freedom & democracy.

    Therefore militant minded working class people (or Marxists) can hardly be thieves for wanting back what was stolen from them in the first place.

    Expropriating the expropriators has nothing to with thievery. It has to do with politics, which in it’s simplest terms, means who gets what.

  16. Tootie: How dare you throw your puppies at me?! Not to mention your bloody fetuses! I just cleaned my kitchen floor. I have measured the post you addressed to me and found it to be 83″ long. I have sworn on the altar of your very own God to never read anything over 72″ long unless it’s written by The Buddha or A.Y. All I can say to you, Tootie is, “Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” (With regards and respect to the late Joseph N. Welch.)

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