Good God! It isn't as if I don't have enough to write about! Then Hank Williams, Jr. gives me more work to do!
OK....OK..... Here goes:
First and foremost, let me state my fundamental beliefs on the subject:
I will defend to my death your right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a principal foundation that the United States of America is founded upon. I believe that it is your right to say what you want to say, where you want to say it and when you want to speak your mind.
Let's go on a journey to one of my famous segways:
Please consider Cybil Shepherd in the movie, "Martha, Inc".
I am grotesquely over-paraphrasing Martha when she said, referring to Cybil's portrayal of herself in the movie, "You might want to watch what you say about someone who has more money and more power than you do!"
I, for one, didn't need a big red firetruck to hit me head-on to understand what Martha was referring to when she spoke, and why ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr's intro that they use on the network.
This is the Hank Williams Jr video that caused him to lose his money maker:
The transcript: (the red text is the gold that I am mining here!):
Mary Jo drags Julia to a keg party for moral support as she breaks off with her younger boyfriend, Kenny. As Julia returns from the powder room she runs into Kenny, who has boxer shorts on his head.
KENNY: Mrs. Sugarbaker! How 'bout you and I going out sometime? I bet I could pick up a thing or two from you.
JULIA: Well, I doubt that, Kenny. But I might be able to offer you one piece of wisdom.
KENNY: Oh yeah? What's that?
JULIA: I believe that you will find as years go by, and you get older and wiser, traversing life's little ups and downs, that underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat. (turning to Mary Jo and speaking loudly to be heard over the music) The powder room isn't really functional now. The keg is in the bathtub and it seems the tap is slow. This is a source of some concern for all the young men in there because they are trying to fill Craig's funnel. Craig, it seems, drinks his beer out of a funnel.
________________________________
Let me circle this Boeing 747 back around and head for the runway - I'm getting ready to land this thing!
Once again: I firmly believe our freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever crosses our minds.
HOWEVER...... ( Don't you just love 'howevers" ??? )
A sense of couth and decorum should allow for some filtering before after the words leave your mind, but before they leak out of your mouth! There is no such thing as "it just slipped out." Don't ever tell me "it just happened" or "it just slipped out", because I will be the last person alive to believe that statement. We are all responsible for our own behaviors, and there are no accidents.
Please refer back to the "underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat" statement. Even though you CAN wear underwear as a hat, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that you do not do such a thing. Take that statement on a parallel journey to the mouths of Cybil and Hank. Even though they CAN say such things, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that they do not say such things - especially to people who have the power to radically change their lives with one swoop.
I say to you, Cybil and Hank: "You might want to take the underwear off your head now. It's not working for you!"
This is the point where a comparison between the spoken word and underwear worn on the head comes to an end. Correcting the "underwear / head" problem is an easy task: You simply remove the underwear from your head, and you hope that there were no viable witnesses present! Recanting the spoken word is much more difficult, however - especially if you are a nationally known public figure, and your statements were recorded on video or other permanent media. In this case, eating your own words might be a formidable challenge, indeed - much like capturing smoke in a bag! "Once it's out, it's out!"
Do not give up the ship! Do not lose all hope! This is a preventative measure, rather than an remedy:
(Quoting Dr. Phil, quoting his father...who was quoting 'Anonymous'):
"Never pass up a good opportunity to keep your mouth SHUT."
My fellow St. Louis native poet Maya Angelo once said:“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
I have always believed that Hank Williams, Jr.'s arrogant sense of self-importance was more than an act. This type of instance is what Maya Angelo was referring to. To paraphrase yet another quote, (either Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln, depending on who you believe!) said:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.”
Both quotes - the one attributed to Twain / Lincoln, and the wisdom spoken by Maya Angelo are true and are relevant to to this situation.
Hank Williams, Jr's statement about the President accomplished both tasks:
1) It afforded him the opportunity to show us his true self. (And I believed him!)
2) He opened his mouth, and removed all doubt: He really is a fool!
(I am not going to address the political aspect of this incident. My best friend, "Karma", and her sisters, "the Fates" are excellent house keepers, and they are doing an excellent job of taking care of that business!)
- Michael
OK....OK..... Here goes:
First and foremost, let me state my fundamental beliefs on the subject:
I will defend to my death your right to freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a principal foundation that the United States of America is founded upon. I believe that it is your right to say what you want to say, where you want to say it and when you want to speak your mind.
Let's go on a journey to one of my famous segways:
Please consider Cybil Shepherd in the movie, "Martha, Inc".
I am grotesquely over-paraphrasing Martha when she said, referring to Cybil's portrayal of herself in the movie, "You might want to watch what you say about someone who has more money and more power than you do!"
I, for one, didn't need a big red firetruck to hit me head-on to understand what Martha was referring to when she spoke, and why ESPN pulled Hank Williams Jr's intro that they use on the network.
This is the Hank Williams Jr video that caused him to lose his money maker:
If I am forced to admit the truth, I will have to say that, in tthis instance, it is true what "they" say! "A picture is worth 1,000 words!"
I often use videos as a reference to classic lines in sitcoms to make the point that I am attempting to illustrate a bit more clear.
Please evaluate, if you will, the following video. The quote that I am singling out is in the second part of this Designing Women episode, but I will include both links so you can watch the entire episode, if you want to do so.
This episode is entitled "The Engagement", and it's original airdate was March 27, 1989
Part 1:
I often use videos as a reference to classic lines in sitcoms to make the point that I am attempting to illustrate a bit more clear.
Please evaluate, if you will, the following video. The quote that I am singling out is in the second part of this Designing Women episode, but I will include both links so you can watch the entire episode, if you want to do so.
This episode is entitled "The Engagement", and it's original airdate was March 27, 1989
Part 1:
And part 2:
In this segment, please refer to 06:30 in the following video. Located immediately below this clip, I have provided a transcript of the section to which I am referring:
In this segment, please refer to 06:30 in the following video. Located immediately below this clip, I have provided a transcript of the section to which I am referring:
The transcript: (the red text is the gold that I am mining here!):
Mary Jo drags Julia to a keg party for moral support as she breaks off with her younger boyfriend, Kenny. As Julia returns from the powder room she runs into Kenny, who has boxer shorts on his head.
KENNY: Mrs. Sugarbaker! How 'bout you and I going out sometime? I bet I could pick up a thing or two from you.
JULIA: Well, I doubt that, Kenny. But I might be able to offer you one piece of wisdom.
KENNY: Oh yeah? What's that?
JULIA: I believe that you will find as years go by, and you get older and wiser, traversing life's little ups and downs, that underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat. (turning to Mary Jo and speaking loudly to be heard over the music) The powder room isn't really functional now. The keg is in the bathtub and it seems the tap is slow. This is a source of some concern for all the young men in there because they are trying to fill Craig's funnel. Craig, it seems, drinks his beer out of a funnel.
________________________________
Let me circle this Boeing 747 back around and head for the runway - I'm getting ready to land this thing!
Once again: I firmly believe our freedom of speech gives us the right to say whatever crosses our minds.
HOWEVER...... ( Don't you just love 'howevers" ??? )
A sense of couth and decorum should allow for some filtering before after the words leave your mind, but before they leak out of your mouth! There is no such thing as "it just slipped out." Don't ever tell me "it just happened" or "it just slipped out", because I will be the last person alive to believe that statement. We are all responsible for our own behaviors, and there are no accidents.
Please refer back to the "underwear probably really doesn't make all that good of a hat" statement. Even though you CAN wear underwear as a hat, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that you do not do such a thing. Take that statement on a parallel journey to the mouths of Cybil and Hank. Even though they CAN say such things, a sense of couth and decorum should dictate that they do not say such things - especially to people who have the power to radically change their lives with one swoop.
I say to you, Cybil and Hank: "You might want to take the underwear off your head now. It's not working for you!"
This is the point where a comparison between the spoken word and underwear worn on the head comes to an end. Correcting the "underwear / head" problem is an easy task: You simply remove the underwear from your head, and you hope that there were no viable witnesses present! Recanting the spoken word is much more difficult, however - especially if you are a nationally known public figure, and your statements were recorded on video or other permanent media. In this case, eating your own words might be a formidable challenge, indeed - much like capturing smoke in a bag! "Once it's out, it's out!"
Do not give up the ship! Do not lose all hope! This is a preventative measure, rather than an remedy:
(Quoting Dr. Phil, quoting his father...who was quoting 'Anonymous'):
"Never pass up a good opportunity to keep your mouth SHUT."
My fellow St. Louis native poet Maya Angelo once said:“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
I have always believed that Hank Williams, Jr.'s arrogant sense of self-importance was more than an act. This type of instance is what Maya Angelo was referring to. To paraphrase yet another quote, (either Mark Twain or Abraham Lincoln, depending on who you believe!) said:
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.”
Both quotes - the one attributed to Twain / Lincoln, and the wisdom spoken by Maya Angelo are true and are relevant to to this situation.
Hank Williams, Jr's statement about the President accomplished both tasks:
1) It afforded him the opportunity to show us his true self. (And I believed him!)
2) He opened his mouth, and removed all doubt: He really is a fool!
(I am not going to address the political aspect of this incident. My best friend, "Karma", and her sisters, "the Fates" are excellent house keepers, and they are doing an excellent job of taking care of that business!)
- Michael
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