{"id":12318,"date":"2025-11-12T16:27:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/?page_id=12318"},"modified":"2025-11-12T16:51:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T21:51:43","slug":"amdm2025november11","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/aaron-toscano\/amdm2025\/amdm2025november11\/","title":{"rendered":"November 11th: No Class Meeting\u2014Veterans Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Politics of Language\u2013Veterans Day Edition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although any day is a good day to discuss language use and etymology when you\u2019re an English professor, on or around Veterans Day\/Armistice Day, I like to show the class this discussion of word usage from the great philosopher George Carlin<\/strong><\/a> (1990-something). Let me know if you\u2019re confused as to the satire\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Draft Eisenhower Movement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It seems fitting that we’ll start discussing Dwight D. Eisenhower the week of Veterans Day. As I’ve mentioned before, when I have a bias, I like to disclose that. We all have biases, so we should be honest when we’re discussing a subject where our opinions (including expert ones…) may influence our coverage of the subject. I am rather pro-Eisenhower. I think his #5 ranking*<\/strong> is well deserved on this C-SPAN Survey<\/a><\/strong>.
*<\/strong>Personally, as a non-historian, I think he should be 4th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eisenhower was so popular that both Republicans and Democrats wanted him to run on their ticket. He ran in 1952<\/a><\/strong> and 1956<\/a><\/strong> (notice the areas he won). Can you imagine such a scenario today? Gen. Colin Powell<\/a><\/strong> is the only other person I can think of (remember, I’m not a historian or political scientist) who also had such bipartisan support for some amount of time. Both Eisenhower and Powell were highly successful, well respected military servicemembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Back to Eisenhower<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n