"Because we sailed too close to the shore"

"For the beauty of the earth, For the Glory of the skies…" Grapefruit and lilacs for breakfast Down East early morning.

"I'm savoring the revealing contrast between Drake's seafaring 'reach for the stars' vision and Michelle Obama's landlocked 'audacity of whining' (Powerline's expression)," we wrote in the comments of Bird Dog's totally awesome "Annual re-post: Sir Francis Drake's Prayer (1577) at Maggie's Farm.

Sir Francis:

Disturb us Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore…

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

What we said two Mem Days back still applies, big time: "Sunrise this morning over Eastern Point across the river from Goomp's, headquarters for the family's Memorial Day salute to the awesomely brave and good and true fellow Americans who give their all so we might enjoy such natural wonders. We think you know who you are, our beloved fellow bloggers and readers who serve and love those who serve. We cannot thank you enough. God bless."

Michelle Obama:

You start working hard and sacrificing, and you think you’re getting closer to the bar, you’re working and you’re struggling, you get right to that bar, you’re reaching out for the bar, and then what happens?

They raise the bar. Raise the bar. Shift it to the side. Keep it just out of reach.

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair," Martin Luther King famously said:

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.

Is Michelle Obama "too pleased with herself," venturing on Francis Drake's "wilder seas" even as she urges her listeners to instead "dream too little" and sail "too close to the shore"? The soft bigotry of low expectations?

Comments

[Gayle Miller]

The thing I find truly disturbing about Michelle Obama is her haughty attitude toward her fellow Americans. She feels perfectly free to spout whatever scurrilous claptrap that crosses her mind and, according to her husband, should never been called to account for her spoiled brat mouthings. Why should she get a pass? What is so "special" about her? Or is this the cult of victimhood protecting its own, as in "If you are a victim, you are exempt from criticism." which is too often the Left's mantra.

I think it is time for both Obamas to understand that, once he sent Michelle and her magic mouth out onto the campaign trail as his surrogate, spousal privilege no longer applied. When SHE is speaking on HIS behalf, HE and she are both subject to the critique of the listeners. If they don't like it, that's too bad, because it is an integral part of the political process in this country whether the Obamas like it or not. And if they thought they'd somehow be exempt, they are either naive or dumb or both.

[Bob Agard]

Nice juxtaposition of Michelle and MLK. Night and day.