An American President, Armistice Day, and a Comic Strip Character

The 11th day of November is Armistice Day. Over the decades it's been called National, Poppy, and Rembrance Day. These days, Americans call it Veteran's Day.

Some of the most sensible words I've seen recorded that apply to this holiday come from a comic strip character, and an American president:

"Y'know, it seems to be me this is all backwards....We, Ever'body, ought to keep our big mouths shut all the whole year long so's we'd have time to think of two minutes worth of somethin. to say on the eleventh day of November."
(Porky Pine, in Pogo; Walt Kelly (1953))

---

"Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared to the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good."
(Abraham Lincoln, Response to a serenade (November 10, 1864))

---

Adapted from:

• "Veteran's Day, Abraham Lincoln, and Porky Pine"
  A Catholic Citizen in America (November 11, 2012)

Related posts:

• Freedom
  • "Freedom for 'People of Any Faith or No Faith At All''"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (November 9, 2012)
  • "Freedom, Fear, and the Internet"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (September 28, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Threats to Freedom, Obvious and Otherwise
  • "Freedom of Speech: Bothersome, but Valuable"
    A Catholic Citizen in America A Catholic Citizen in America (January 27, 2012)
  • "Individuals, the Common Good, and All That"
    A Catholic Citizen in America (May 13, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Lockstep Conformity
    • A Nonconformist: (not) Like Everybody Else
    • Individuality: Catholic Style
    • "Not Just Something, But Someone"
  • "Freedom, Even For 'Those People Over There' "
    (November 11, 2011)
• Veteran's Day
  • "Lemming Tracks: Armistice/National/Poppy/Rembrance/Veterans Day"
    Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 11, 2011)
  • "Armistice Day/Veterans Day, 2010: a Couple of Words for the American Military, and Something Lincoln Said"
    Another War-on-Terror Blog (November 11, 2010)
  • "The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month: Yeah, It's Kind of Important"
    Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 11, 2009)
  • "Armistice Day, 2008: Or, if You Prefer, Veterans Day"
    (November 11, 2008)
  • "Armistice Day, 2007"
    (November 11, 2007)