The Band – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

An evening pause: From the Martin Scorsese documentary, The Last Waltz (1978).

Note that if a band tried to write a song like this today, sympathetic to the southerns who died during the Civil War, they would probably find their careers destroyed. So much for artistic freedom, and having empathy for all souls.

Hat tip Wayne DeVette.

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Anthony Hopkins & Andrรฉ Rieu – And The Waltz Goes On

An evening pause: From the youtube page: “[Actor Sir Anthony] Hopkins said he had been an admirer of Andrรฉ Rieu for several years and wanted to meet him, so he sent him some music that he wrote with Rieu specifically in mind to perform and his dream came true when Andrรฉ Rieu masterfully performed it with his orchestra.”

Hat tip Danae.

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President Roosevelt’s announcement of D-Day, June 6, 1944

An evening pause: On this anniversary of D-Day, it is worthwhile to go back in time and relive that time to understand better what our country then stood for. Below is President Roosevelt’s radio speech to the nation, announcing the D-Day invasion and its apparent initial success. What is striking is that he spends little time talking about what happened, nor does he spend any time extolling the triumph of his administration. Instead, he humbly turns his speech into his heartfelt prayer for the lives of the soldiers, the people at home, and the people in Europe who are suffering under Hitler’s rule, reminding everyone of the nation’s real goal: “A peace that will let all men to live in peace, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.” He then ends the prayer with these words, “Thy will be done, almighty God. Amen.”

This speech tells us as much about the nation that Roosevelt lived in as it does about Roosevelt himself. He knew his audience, and he knew they believed deeply in freedom, truth, human rights, and moral commitment. He also knew they would be honored to join him in this prayer, with the same humbleness as he was expressing. He knew they would not be offended, whatever their faith, because the important thing was to have good will and to strive for a just conclusion of the war.

If only such things could happen today.

Hat tip Wayne DeVette.

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