We will meet again.
This past Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II made a 4-minute speech to the nation and to the British Commonwealth. It’s only 4 minutes but it was very moving. There’s so much I liked about it. One economist friend pointed out that her term “fellow feeling” is from Adam Smith.
I’ve watched it three times and I can’t get through it without crying.
Here it is.
READER COMMENTS
Jon Murphy
Apr 7 2020 at 9:35pm
Wow. That might go down in history as one of the great speeches of all time.
Peter
Apr 8 2020 at 4:28am
Yeah I watched that live as it aired and thought that was one of the best speeches ever heard in my life followed by why is it so impossible for an American to make a speech like this.
Thaomas
Apr 8 2020 at 12:40pm
Mutatis mutandis being a head of government not just a head of state, it’s the kind of speech Obama would have made.
TMC
Apr 8 2020 at 4:21pm
Maybe, but it would have taken him 40 minutes and 60 references to himself.
Shane L
Apr 8 2020 at 4:59am
It’s a good and dignified speech. To blow my own (nation’s) trumpet, here also is the fine speech by the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins. President Higgins chose to release the speech to local radio stations, which are both struggling under falling advertising revenue, and providing important information and support to communities. Some extracts:
“The pain of losing a loved one to this cruel disease has been compounded for so many by the inability of friends and family to offer consolation and support in the way we usually would. The shake of a hand, a sympathetic touch, a comforting embrace, even our physical presence for those few days following a sudden loss, are not available to us for the very good reason that we are all involved in slowing and overcoming the virus….
This moment demands much of us as citizens but I believe that we are discovering within ourselves new capabilities in terms of human decencies of empathy and compassion….
We know it is through that generous compassion, and our sense of shared humanity with all those with whom we share this vulnerable planet, that we will be enabled to navigate our way forward to a better and more humane world.
We may have more dark days ahead of us, but in the midst of the worry and fear that now shade our lives, it is important that we do not lose sight of the opportunity we have today to draw on those great Irish instincts of solidarity, empathy and kindness to allow us to help each other through this ordeal.
As we continue on this journey, let us walk in unity, supporting each other, carefully and fully following the advice that we have been given, thus keeping each other safe.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfMqQxng3Uo
Neel Chamilall
Apr 8 2020 at 9:10am
Same for me, David. I like Queen Elizabeth II even more than usual since I watched her speech.
David Seltzer
Apr 8 2020 at 5:59pm
At first, I thought this is a Churchillian moment. Then I realized, Queen Elizabeth II is her own person.
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