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Tag: james madison
What Lizzo Can Teach The Right About America -- And Our History

What Lizzo Can Teach The Right About America -- And Our History

It's tough being a social conservative these days, what with all the trolls about.

Some right-wingers were in a lather last week after Lizzo "disrespected" James Madison's flute. Or, that's what they would have you think.

Jenna Ellis, one of Trump's former lawyers, said Lizzo's performance was a "desecration, purposefully, of America's history." Matt Walsh tweeted that "Lizzo playing James Madison's flute was a form of racial retribution, according to the woke Left. And I actually have no doubt that this is part of the reason why the Library of Congress facilitated this spectacle." Hitting the same notes, Ben Shapiro decried the "vulgarization of American history."

Well. Let's consider what actually took place. Aware that Lizzo would be in D.C. for a big concert in late September, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden sent a twitter invitation to the Grammy-winning performer:

"The @librarycongress has the largest flute collection in the world with more than 1,800. It incl Pres James Madison's 1813 crystal flute. @lizzo we would love for you to come see it and even play a couple when you are in DC next week. Like your song they are 'Good as hell.'"

Lizzo, an accomplished flutist, responded with enthusiasm and visited the Library of Congress, dressed in street clothes, where she tried out some of the historic instruments, including a crystal flute that once belonged to James Madison. There are samples of her playing on YouTube. Outstanding, right?

I wonder how many of the "conservatives" lambasting her would be able to name the excerpts she performed from Paganini's "Carnival of Venice" and Poulenc's flute sonata? Or whether they paused to admire her musicianship? As a classical music site noted, it wasn't easy to play the historical instrument:

"Normally she plays the modern Boehm concert flute, cylindrical bore, pitched in C with the keynote played with seven fingers down and extensive keywork for the accidentals. The Laurent crystal flute is a pre-Boehm simple system instrument, pitched in D, tapered bore, keynote played with six fingers down, only a few keys. Their playing characteristics are therefore markedly different, to the point where they are not at all interchangeable."

What really set off the cons though was what happened at the Capital One Arena the following night, when representatives of the Library of Congress brought Madison's flute onstage. Lizzo played a few notes and then executed a little winking twerk. Now, I am no fan of this move, but I must say that Lizzo's humorous romp was utterly tame compared with, say, Miley Cyrus' version at the 2013 Video Music Awards.

But here's the part the conservatives omitted from their accounts: Lizzo told her thousands of fans that the flute was:

"a gift to James Madison from a French crystal flute designer to celebrate his second term ... There was a fire while he was away and the only two things that were saved were a portrait of George Washington (big ovation) and this crystal flute right here. (Another big ovation.) I am the first person to ever play it, so y'all about to hear what it sounds like for the first time. It's crystal. It's like playing out of a wine glass."

After playing a few notes, she exulted that "History is freaking cool, you guys!"

Yep, and so is she. I don't care for her costume choices, or the twerk move, but again, it was really a winking allusion to a twerk, not the lewd kind. I love that she was so reverent toward the instrument in her hands and the history it represented.

And frankly, it's especially gratifying to see a young African American artist embrace this history as her own, because there are some Americans who don't think it belongs to her. You can find progressives who seem to prefer that African Americans adopt a pose of permanent alienation from America due to our history of slavery and racism, and there are "conservatives" who yearn to exclude African Americans from "our history" (e.g., the idiots who object to Black characters in a fantasy drama set in a mythical Middle Ages).

The greatness of American history belongs to all of us, just as its sins are borne by all of us. The musical "Hamilton," by casting all of the Founders with minority actors and weaving rap into the score, was a particularly unifying celebration of America. Lizzo's performance was in that spirit, and she has earned the respect of true conservatives.

Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the "Beg to Differ" podcast. Her most recent book is Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

Visiting The Gallery Of Vice Presidents — Yes, They Do Matter

Visiting The Gallery Of Vice Presidents — Yes, They Do Matter

WASHINGTON — Mike Pence, the Republican Indiana governor, showed more style in the vice presidential debate against earnest Democratic Senator Tim Kaine. So there’s work to do.

Attend closely to each candidate. Ask how the Number Two plays on the national stage and how much the stakes matter. More than you might think. When the Veep steers the ship, at times it’s right into the rocks. Whatever your political party, remember Sarah Palin, the unserious pick made by John McCain, the elderly 2008 Republican standard-bearer. That told us, right quick, about his wild judgment.

Teddy Roosevelt is the sunniest member of the club who succeeded a president who died in office. That was a century ago. Since April 1945, Democrat Harry S. Truman, the ailing Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s vice president, has been seen as another fortunate successor.

Sure, we get lucky across the stepping stones of time. They say Gerald Ford — the only Veep ever to succeed a president who resigned — was a decent chap in the House and as president for two years.

So listen for the voices on the zeitgeist. The first 11 presidents, from George Washington to James Polk, elected in 1844, came in pairs, though Thomas Jefferson had to do one better, with a bunch.

Early leaders in their ambition and lust for power, Jefferson had two Virginia proteges, James Madison and James Monroe, succeed him. The key word is “Virginia,” for they owned slave plantations within riding distance, of course. Nothing but the best for Jefferson.

This created a Virginia presidential dynasty for, wait for it, 24 straight years.

Jefferson had two vice presidents, one of whom was the elegant Aaron Burr, who would have made a better commander in chief than the hapless Madison. The fourth president fled the capital as the British army burned it in 1814.

Unlike Jefferson or Madison, Burr was a Revolutionary Army officer. But he was a younger New Yorker who tied Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election. Jefferson had an enemies list, too, and intrigued against Burr, keeping up the famous charm.

Setting another precedent for the later Bush family, Adams brought his namesake son, John Quincy Adams, to the highest office in 1824, shortly before the father died. But slaveholder and general Andrew Jackson “Old Hickory” beat him in a bitter rematch.

Andrew Jackson’s vice president, Martin Van Buren, succeeded him peacefully, just as Yankee John Adams, the first vice president, succeeded the general on horseback, George Washington. Different as they were, the first Federalists tried to set an example for future generations.

I might add that Jackson groomed a protege to the presidency, James Polk, after he left office. Jackson and Jefferson were presidential history’s only “doubleheaders.”

Then there was beloved Abraham Lincoln, who worked the land himself. But a field trip reminded me he made a near-fatal choice in his 1864 running mate.

Oh, the winds of history blew me away to a stark, chilling sight: a military courtroom. The “Lincoln conspirators” were tried here, with a makeshift gallows built outside at Fort McNair. Four assassination conspirators were convicted and hanged in the summer of 1865. The 16th president was the first one to die in office.

As Civil War guns were stilled, Andrew Johnson, the vice president, could not have been less like Lincoln. The roughhewn, tactless Tennessean was not one to heal wounds of war. Hated by North and South alike, he was impeached.

You know the scene: Ford’s Theatre on a spring night as actor John Wilkes Booth stormed President Lincoln’s box and shot him behind the ear.

It seems the stuff of Shakespearean tragedy. “Macbeth” was Lincoln’s favorite.

The four — one was a woman, innkeeper Mary Surratt — were treated harshly, on Secretary of War Edwin Stanton’s orders: kept wrapped in hot blankets and hoods in Washington’s heavy heat. The nation’s blood had spilled again; Lincoln was the final casualty of the Civil War.

To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com