“Because we sailed too close to the shore,” revisited

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

By Sissy Willis

For our
AmerAussie Twitter friend Spot the Dog and all our readers,
republication of our May 25, 2008 Memorial Day post:

"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?

Crossposted at sisu and Liberty Pundits.