I wonder what Will Rogers would say about America today. He never held back. He poked fun at everybody. Politically correct? He would laugh at the very idea.
Born in 1879 to a Cherokee family in the Oklahoma Territory, he became a beloved figure in his country and around the world. He traveled the globe three times, made over 70 movies, and wrote more than 4000 nationally syndicated columns. At one time, he was the highest Hollywood movie star. He came a long way from the prairie. His homespun humor coated his biting wit with keen observations about everything from politicians to gangsters.
He even wrote his own ending: “When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: ‘I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.’ I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.”
He did die and the world mourned. While flying with aviator Wiley Post, he died in a plane crash in northern Alaska at 55 years of age.
We could use a Will Rogers today. Here are a few of his best lines:
- “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”
- “Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”
- “A fool and his money are soon elected.”
- “Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”
- “I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.”
- “If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing.”
- “I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him ‘father.’”
We could use some of his common sense, don’t you think?
