Copley’s Portrait Of Paul Revere

 

This is Portrait of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley from 1768.

Paul Revere lived 1734-1818.

Here is how this painting is described in the book American Art and Architecture by Michael J. Lewis—

“Here was a new kind of painting. Instead of aristocratic subjects in settings of leisure, Copley portrayed merchants and artisans who were not ashamed of their status or their manual labor—Aristocrats of commerce. Revere holds one of his silver teapots in one hand as he prepares to incise it with decoration while the other holds his head, as if to suggest that he earns his livelihood by both his hands and his head.”  

Here is information on Paul Revere.

Despite this painting, Copley was no friend of the American Revolution. He left America in 1774 and settled in London.

Click here for some information on Copley. Take a look at his self-portrait—Just seeing it will clue you in on his feelings about the revolution.   

Please click here for other Texas Liberal posts on Colonial America.

Women’s Movement A Product Of Hope And Imagination, Yet Mrs. Clinton Makes Fun Of These Things

The women’s movement, like all civil rights movements, was first of all the hope that life could be better for women in America and elsewhere in the world.

(Photo above of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.)

All human rights movements start off as hope and imagination.

It takes a lot of hard work to bring about meaningful change, but it starts off as hope and imagination

Here is what Hillary Clinton, a beneficiary of the woman’s movement, said today while campaigning in Providence, Rhode Island.

“Now I could stand up here and say, let’s get everybody together, let’s get unified the sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing,” she said, to a smattering of giggles. “And everyone will know we should do the right thing, and the world will be perfect.”    

What a lousy thing for Mrs. Clinton to say. 

Why be a liberal if you can’t hope something better without being made fun of by someone on your own side of the aisle? 

If People Are Not Interested In Their Political Freedom….

If people are not interested in their political freedom, it’s certain that whatever they are interested in instead, such as entertainment, will be provided at the expense of their rights and at the expense of democracy.

NAFTA Not To Blame For Blue Collar Workers Voting Republican Or Kids Not Studying

Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton are running away from any notion that they once supported NAFTA.

They are criticizing various trade agreements with other nations.

Underlying this is the fear that American workers have that living standards are declining.

As they are.

Would it do any good to remind many working people how often they have based their votes on appeals to racism and on who would best protect their right to own many guns?

I suppose it would not.

However, one thing the candidates could tell blue collar workers and other working people, is that their kids need to put away the video games and turn off the cell phone and go study.

We could tell these people the truth about how rough the future is going to be instead of blaming people in some other country.

Both parties share the blame for selling average people down the river on a variety of fronts when it comes to wages and job security. Yet one gets the sense that many parents have little idea of just what it will take to make their kids competitive for good jobs.

You can’t blame NAFTA for that.