. . . – – – . . . for Samuel Morse

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Samuel MorseUlysses S. Grant was born on this day in 1822. The creator of Woody Woodpecker, Walter Lantz was born in 1899. Jack Klugman was born in 1922. And Coretta Scott King was born in 1927.

Casey Kasem is 81 today. Sheena Easton is 54. The poor man’s Brad Pitt, James LeGros is 51. Wanker Dana Milbank is 45. And Newark Mayor Cory Booker is 44.

The day, however, belongs to Samuel Morse who was born on this day back in 1791. In addition to all that business about the telegraph, he was rather a good painter. He was also a total asshole. Let me count the ways. First, he was radically anti-Catholic, because, you know, he was a protestant and knew the one true way. Second, he was anti-immigrant, because, you know, he was already here. Third, he was pro-slavery, because, you know, being born in Massachusetts he had no reason to be for it except that the Bible told him so. Just listen to the great man on the subject:

My creed on the subject of slavery is short. Slavery per se is not sin. It is a social condition ordained from the beginning of the world for the wisest purposes, benevolent and disciplinary, by Divine Wisdom. The mere holding of slaves, therefore, is a condition having per se nothing of moral character in it, any more than the being a parent, or employer, or ruler.

That’s the problem with getting your morality from a book—especially one from thousands of years earlier that is filed with the vilest of social conventions cloaked in the idea that it was God’s will. Anyway, like most evil men, he had a long and happy life. He certainly didn’t make as much money off his patents as he could have, but he lived and died quite rich. So if you hear anyone complain that he didn’t get his due, remember: he lived like Mitt Romney but might have lived like Warren Buffett if his patents had been better controlled. Excuse me if I don’t care.

Anyway, happy birthday you bigot! Morally, you should have telegraphed to the word: . . . – – – . . .

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3 thoughts on “. . . – – – . . . for Samuel Morse”

  1. "…a social condition ordained from the beginning of the world for the wisest purposes, benevolent and disciplinary, by
    Divine Wisdom." Really? What religious document/book was he reading? (…and I had to learn Morse Code in the Boy Scouts.)

    Just goes to show that, even from fools, idiots, morons, and phuckers in general, usefull things can be learned.

  2. @ThrashMikki – It’s always disappointing. There are a lot of people I admire who have real dark sides. But at least Morse did some good stuff and was generally very kind to his friends and the poor. Contrast that with someone like Dick Cheney who is [i]all[/i] dark side. And you know if he had been alive in 1860 he would have been pro-slavery.

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