“We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” Those words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln haunt a nation. Join 6,435 readers in helping fund MetaFilter. for the people, and she is truly stoked to be the senior political reporter for Millennial Politics. As used as a cliche in movies and cheap novels, it's basically an appeal to American Exceptionalism, a sort of quasi-religious belief that the United States of America is a tool of, or specially destined by, a Judeo-Christian God, to perform His goals on Earth. Swing Left Launches Blueprint, New Political Giving Tool, Judge Lina Hidalgo: Steady Leadership Through Tumultuous Times. The President was directly referencing Emancipation, and his words, 156 years later, echo to the very survival of Democracy. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. Credit does go to Lincoln, and expansion to Reagan. : Harvard University Press, 1995. v + 214 pp., illustrations, notes, index. Best You Do Your Best Chance Your. They momentarily lost their damn minds, they bleat. Thus restoring faith among civilized people, that great unswayed majority, that this too shall pass. Thanks. Labeling America as the last best hope of earth implies that other countries provide hope for the future but none surpasses America in embodying the principles of self-government, liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness. in Ronald Reagan's Second Inaugural Address, 21 January 1985. hopefully there will be some good answers! Aiding a Reality TV Star. Again, America, Best, Dream, Earth, Hope, Last, Once, Place, Seen, Time, Where, Will. We — even we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility. Cuda believes being an independent investigative reporter makes her a P.I. Open your eyes wide and witness the actions of desperate despots. Let us earn the applause of nations once again by working together to defeat the weak “strongmen,” both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. A move the apprentice is copping, as he tries to appoint his own crony justice to the Supreme Court. ), Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Thousands protest nationwide against a pension-age increase, and new polls reveal a majority of Russians are tired of the hate-spewed toward the West. (The "last best hope of earth" is the Union, that is, the United States of America. “Peaceful, generous, just… a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud.”. Once that's gone, will there still be some somewhat-okay hopes? These are not strongmen. Horace Mann, who was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education in 1837, ensured that all schools would have in common: "tuition-free, tax-supported, meeting statewide standards of curriculum, textbooks, and facilities, staffed… ( Log Out /  ( Log Out /  Ask MetaFilter is a question and answer site that covers nearly any question on earth, where members help each other solve problems. The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America. Grumblebee, you're working too hard. I'm going to have to go through it again, with a dictionary and some other resources, but I'm glad you went to such lengths to explain. Look, the majority of people in this country are loving, good and kind. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. American Exceptionalism, Transcendentalism and Abolition,"City on a Hill", "New Jerusalem", the Massachusetts Bay Colony, political and religious motives behind the settling of the Americas by the Puritans, Calvinism and Predestination for this meme in context.) Last Best Hope of Earth further aspires to both inform and inspire the reader by showing that despite the doomsayers (modern and historical), the United States is not only adhering to its founding principles but is also on an upward trajectory, as it has been since its inception. Those words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln haunt a nation. Of this, there is no doubt. I think you're right. This blog intends to evoke the spirit of President Lincoln’s words by uncovering the past and juxtaposing it with contemporary events to reveal the identifiable characteristics that make America a beacon of hope in the world. Change ), Literary Cuisine for March 26th, 2016 – Keep Calm and Read On Blog, Constitution Sunday: Luther Martin, “The Genuine Information,” IX, Constitution Sunday: Luther Martin, “The Genuine Information,” II. "Best hope" is similar (identical?) The phrase is recycled and expanded upon ("The last, best hope of man on Earth"). It is not synonymous with "option. ", I think you're conflating two meanings of "best" in your example there, gelcap. In other words, the strongmen are getting weaker. Last Best Hope of Earth, as a blog focused on U.S. history and politics, is intended to capture the spirit of the words of President Abraham Lincoln in his December 1, 1862 address to Congress amidst the Civil War: “We say we are for the Union. In Venezuela, a drone attack at a military parade made a strongman look weak. There are simply no words... seriously, we haven't... Is 'proof, if proof be need be' a Chris Morris... Where does underwater basketweaving come from. As Russian journalist Masha Gessen notes, Trump is Putin’s apprentice and the apprentice’s Helsinki bootlicking was the biggest tell in this entire pitiful episode.
The President was directly referencing Emancipation, and his words, 156 years later, echo to the very survival of Democracy. Today, our country celebrates Memorial Day. I get "last hope" and "I get best hope," but what does it mean when the phrases are combined? Author Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an Emmy award-winning investigative reporter, screenwriter, director, free press activist and mother. I make mistakes, I'm out of control, and at times hard to handle. It’s not just the unaccounted spoils, it’s the spoiling of our nation’s dignity, our love for our neighbors. The only reason Putin hasn’t been tried in his country for corruption is he made it impossible to do so.

There's best as in your "the one I'd choose if given a choice," but when I think of the phrase "best hope for survival", for instance, I think of best as in "most probable, most likely to come true." The world will not forget that we say this. Millennial Politics is an independent digital media company shining a spotlight on progressive candidates, causes, and organizations. “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”.
I don't know the answer, and I also don't get the meaning. As journalists are murdered, the Russian people are rising up. Thanks for all that, orthogonality.

If, as Richard Hofstadter complained, the Emancipation Proclamation had “all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading,” here in the1862 message Lincoln offered a fuller glimpse of what was in his heart. Trump’s daily desecrations of our beautiful melting pot are riling up the easily bamboozled, who more than anyone needs hard truth and a gentle reminder they’ve been trolled. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. We… Mark Neely's biography of Abraham Lincoln is an authoritative, well-written book, although it is not a balanced portrait. ( Log Out /  ( Log Out /  As Simon Tisdall of The Guardian notes, some may suffer from “Putin Derangement Syndrome,” an affliction of the apprentice, where people believe a xenophobic war criminal is our bro. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. We are living in perilous times, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. to "best bet," as in "your best bet for getting an answer to your question is to ask it on AskMe.". A "hope," by definition, is for something out of one's control. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Sometimes rhetoric is constructed because it sounds good, even if it doesn't totally make sense. When Lincoln addressed Congress in 1862, he asked one simple question: “Can we all do better?”. We know how to save the Union. However, I think the reason you have been noticing it (last, best hope) is that J. Michael Stryzinski co-opted the phrase for the opening dialoge of each episode of his sci-fi series, Babylon 5, in the mid 90s. There were a bunch of "best hopes" but now there's only one left? Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.” He was speaking of emancipation, but also of a larger topic, the ultimate survival of democracy. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless. All posts copyright their original authors. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I think you're both missing the point. We—even we here—hold the power, and bear the responsibility. Among the Kremlin’s biggest errors? She spent 15 years as the Los Angeles Times nightlife columnist and authored such seminal rap and punk books as "Sublime's Brad Nowell: Crazy Fool" and "The Ice Opinion," with Ice T. With a long career in broadcast news, she wrote and hosted her own political and economic series; and wrote and produced half-hour specials on the environment, science and social justice issues. We know how to save the Union. President Lincoln’s words reflect the optimism for America’s future, the uniqueness of America’s role in the world, and the direness of the Civil War. A Pathway to Further Inequality and Injustice: The... Mary Gay Scanlon: “Tough Smart Progressive” for PA-05, The Konflictocrat: Trump’s 5 Biggest Legal Threats. Just ask each bigot caught on tape. It’s always the same mea culpa. Yeah, just read through it again, orthagonality. These are oily charlatans hiding behind curtains of corruption. Duke Ellington.

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We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. The world knows we do know how to save it. Last Best Hope of Earth, as a blog focused on U.S. history and politics, is intended to capture the spirit of the words of President Abraham Lincoln in his December 1, 1862 address to Congress amidst the Civil War: “We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. Cambridge, Mass. What is the origin of the phrase, "last, best hope" as used in pretty much every self-consciously significant but ultimately cliched film, book or TV episode I've indulged myself with over the last ten years?