At a time like this - John Henry Thompson - Invent Your Future
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posted Jul 8, 2020, 8:13 PM by John Henry Thompson
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/
At a time like this, scorching irony,
not convincing argument, is needed.
O! had I the ability,
and could I reach the nation’s ear,
I would, to-day,
pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule,
blasting reproach,
withering sarcasm,
and stern rebuke.
For it is not light that is needed, but fire;
it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.
We need the storm,
the whirlwind,
and the earthquake.
The feeling of the nation must be quickened;
the conscience of the nation must be roused;
the propriety of the nation must be startled;
the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed;
and its crimes against God
and man must be proclaimed and denounced.