A Brief History
On September 2, 1901, Teddy Roosevelt first voiced his advice, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” We took the utterance of this phrase, one that became closely associated with TR, as impetus to write 10 Phamous Phrases People are Known Phor. Today we add another 5 such catch phrases.
Digging Deeper
1. “You’re fired.” Donald Trump.
The Donald made this phrase his own, and even tried to trademark the line, on his “reality” television show, The Apprentice. Since becoming President of the United States in January of 2017, he has racked up an impressive list of phamous phirings already, including ones that he is being accused of as part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice (preventing or hindering the investigation of his and his campaign’s involvement in collusion to affect the 2016 election with Russia). As the noose gets tighter over Trump’s neck, will we hear Congress tell The Donald, “You’re fired!”
2. “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” – Unidentified US Army Major.
Journalist Peter Arnett quoted an officer he allegedly spoke with after the catastrophic bombing and shelling of a South Vietnamese town (Ben Tre), resulting in destruction of the town and the killing of numerous civilians. This simple sentence (sometimes reported with “village” instead of “town”) became symbolic of the futility of American involvement in Vietnam, and is often ascribed to the US Government as some sort of official rationale for the war. The quote might be apocryphal and not even real, yet it came to symbolize the Vietnam War for the anti-war crowd. (Dis-honorable mention: “We’re winning their Hearts and Minds.”)
3. “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead.” – General Phillip Sheridan.
Tasked with pacifying the Native American population in the West after the Civil War, Sheridan has been quoted as saying variations on the quote listed above, including, “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Despite this “quote” being the phrase most closely associated with this American Army legend, it is in all likelihood false, and Sheridan denied ever saying anything remotely similar to the phrase. Oddly enough, sometimes General William T. Sherman is credited with uttering this quotation.
4. “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” – Governor George Wallace.
It seems incredible today that a governor could spew such contemptible words during his gubernatorial inauguration, and yet Wallace did just that in January of 1963 when he became Governor of Alabama. A little background here is enlightening, insofar as Wallace ran for Governor as a racial moderate in 1958, denouncing the KKK and receiving the endorsement of the NAACP (Wow!). His defeat in 1958 convinced him he must get radical on race relations in order to win the White vote, so he moved to the Right and got elected, forever associated with this phrase that sometimes is quoted as starting “Segregation today…” instead of “Segregation now…”
5. “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” – Michael Jordan.
Despite performing basketball acrobatics and becoming one of the most recognizable people on Earth, Michael Jordan declined to use his fame and celebrity status to support Civil Rights for African Americans, notably refusing to endorse South Carolina candidate for the US Senate Harvey Gantt, an African American Democrat running (1990) against perhaps the most racist man in the Senate, Jesse Helms (Republican). Baffled by Jordan’s unwillingness to make the “no brainer” endorsement, friends asked Jordan “Why not endorse Gantt?” Jordan allegedly replied, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” This statement was based on Jordan’s highly lucrative endorsement of Nike athletic shoes, perhaps the richest endorsement relationship in the history of sports. Although not reduced to pariah status among African Americans, Jordan is not revered the way other prominent Blacks are for speaking out against racial inequality.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What phamous phrases would you add to the list?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Ruddy, Daniel. Theodore Roosevelt’s History of the United States: His Own Words, Selected and Arranged by Daniel Ruddy. Smithsonian, 2010.
