Favorite Short Prose (speeches, essays, etc)

Author: K_Michael 2 years ago

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K_Michael

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K_Michael

11.01.2022 11:04PM

I was recently thinking about the undelivered speech written by William Safire for Richard Nixon to deliver if the Apollo 13 mission failed.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

I think its a very stirring speech and was wondering if anyone has similar media that they would like to share, especially if it inspires hope and pride in the human spirit.

Best.Korea

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Best.Korea

11.02.2022 07:26AM

We will all stop suffering once we die.

We will become eternal.

We wont need to eat or work.

We wont be hungry.

We wont worry.

We wont be upset.

We wont be bored.

So really, the heaven is real. You just have to die to get there.

Elliott

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Elliott

11.02.2022 10:08AM

One you may be familiar with but I think it’s a good one.

A speech written by Nosh S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr and delivered in 1952 to the Mississippi legislature during debate on whether that state should prohibit or legalize alcoholic beverages.

If by Whisky

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:

If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

RationalMadman

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RationalMadman

11.02.2022 10:21AM

I am afraid to break copyright laws for some of my fave of these. I will consider which parts of Robert Greene's works to show.

RationalMadman

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RationalMadman

11.02.2022 10:23AM

Everything in life can be taken away from you and generally will be at some point. Your wealth vanishes, the latest gadgetry suddenly becomes passé, your allies desert you. But if your mind is armed with the art of war, there is no power that can take that away. In the middle of a crisis, your mind will find its way to the right solution. Having superior strategies at your fingertips will give your maneuvers irresistible force. As Sun-tzu says, “Being unconquerable lies with yourself."

- Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War.

RationalMadman

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RationalMadman

11.02.2022 10:26AM

The key to staying unintimidated is to convince yourself that the person you’re facing is a mere mortal, no different from you—which is in fact the truth. See the person, not the myth. Imagine him or her as a child, as someone riddled with insecurities. Cutting the other person down to size will help your keep your mental balance.

- Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War

ebuc

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ebuc

11.06.2022 01:44PM

-->

@K_Michael

"Ever Rethinking the Lord's Prayer"
July 12 1979 Bucky Fuller

......

" Firstly I mean:_

those experience-engendered thoughts

which are predicated upon past successions

which are unexpected, human discoveries

of mathematically incisive,

physically demonstrable answers

to what thereto fore had been mis-assumed

to be forever unanswerable

cosmic magnitude questions

wherefore I now assume it to be

scientifically manifest,

and therefore experientially reasonable that

scientifically explainable answers

may and probably will

eventually be given

to all questions

as engendered in all human thoughts

by the sum total

of all human experiences;

wherefore my first meaning for God is:-

all the experientially explained

or explainable answers

to all questions

of all time- "

28 days later

Chernobyl

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Chernobyl

12.04.2022 09:49PM

Famous - and perhaps even predictable - but still, in my personal opinion, one of the best speeches of all times.

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!"

49 days later

Topic's author

K_Michael

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K_Michael

01.23.2023 02:31AM

swanjolras:

gosh but like we spent hundreds of years looking up at the stars and wondering "is there anybody out there" and hoping and guessing and imagining

because we as a species were so lonely and we wanted friends so bad, we wanted to meet other species and we wanted to talk to them and we wanted to leam from them and to stop being the only people in the universe

and we started realizing that things were maybe not going so good for us- we got scared that we were going to blow each other up, we got scared that we were going to break our planet permanently, we got scared that in a hundred years we were all going to be dead and gone and even if there were other people out there, we'd never get to meet them

and then

we built robots?

and we gave them names and we gave them brains made out of silicon and we pretended they were people and we told them hey you wanna go exploring, and of course they did, because we had made them in our own image

and maybe in a hundred years we won't be around any more, maybe yeah the planet will be a mess and we'll all be dead, and if other people come from the stars we won't be around to meet them and say hi! how are you! we're people, too! you're not alone any more!, maybe we'll be gone

but we built robots, who have beat-up hulls and metal brains, and who have names; and if the other people come and say, who were these people? what were they like?

the robots can say, when they made us, they called us discovery; they called us curiosity, they called us explorer, they called us spirit. they must have thought that was important.

and they told us to tell you hello.

#10

AustinL0926

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Posts: 2,288

AustinL0926

01.23.2023 06:51PM

"Invictus", Willian Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

#11

JuSBeiNgme

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JuSBeiNgme

01.23.2023 08:04PM

-->

@ebuc

First time on here. My apologies if my technique or approach are errant. I agree most "mystery's" have or will be verified or debunked if ever put to the human test. I believe it was Descartes that said God is in the details. I always loved that quote. Hopefully I attributed it correctly. Back on topic. The unfortunate issue from my perspective is the mass of humanity that do not care. They will not accept or entertain any idea, concept or verifiably fact based information that differs from their current view. I guess my point is our "civilization" is so broken and the intellect of the average citizen so pathetic, facts and reality are ephemeral concepts open to personal preference and interpretation. I do not say this because I agree with it. I say it because I see no alternative, logical or reasonable way to interpret their behavior. I find engaging in conversation intolerable now with most people. It horrifies me how little actual information based/meaningful conversation most people are capable of having. They will say something which sounds interesting. Then when asked for clarification or simply more detail they have nothing. Just smart enough to do whatever job they have. Which amazingly can be very complex jobs. But not smart enough to question their own stance, even when presented with clear irrefutable evidence. Two pet peeves. 1. People who think " I disagree" qualifies as a rebuttal or counter opinion. 2. People who when unable to offer any logical counter respond with "I don't want to talk about it anymore". Both responses from my perspective mean I need not engage them in conversation in the future. Happy Monday. I wish a whole lot of things could be reimagined. :)

#12

ebuc

Debates: 0

Posts: 5,048

ebuc

01.24.2023 01:47AM

-->

@JuSBeiNgme

Part Two: Ever Rethinking the Lords Prayer { Bucky Fuller } Part 1 post #7

.."Secondly I mean;-

The individual's memory

of many surprising moments

of dawning comprehension's

of as interrelated significance

to be existent

amongst a number

of what had previously seemed to be

entirely uninterrelated experiences

all of which remembered experiences

engender the reasonable assumption

of the possible existence

of a total comprehension

of the integrated significance-

the meaning-

of all experiences. "...