Shakespeare's "Sonnet 55"

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments

Of princes, shall outlive this pow'rful rhyme,

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time.

When wasteful war shall statues overturn,

And broils root out the work of masonry,

Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn

The living record of your memory.

'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity

Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room

Even in the eyes of all posterity

That wear this world out to the ending doom.

So, till the judgment that yourself arise,

You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

I guess one could wonder why I would blog about a poem that is over 400 years old. Well, for me the answer is simple.

When my English class was reading this particular sonnet, the one people that came into my mind were Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan. What I believe Shakespeare is trying to say in Sonnet 55 is that when an someone is remembered by his/her supporters, they are remembered before and after the person dies and nothing -- not even wars can diminish the memories.

When Ronald Reagan's Presidency ended, people remember how he came into the presidency facing a recession worse than the one we're in right now. When he cut taxes, the economy literally took off. More jobs were available and revenues nearly doubled by the end of Reagan's second term.

In addition, Reagan helped to restore the faith of citizens who once felt like the Carter Administration was humiliating the country and allowing it to be pushed around. As evidence, 444 hostages in Iran were held until almost immediately after Reagan was sworn in as President.

After Reagan went home to God, his supporters continued to remember how he restored their faith and made his ideas known. Today, many including Sarah Palin continue to remind us of those ideas so that we may never forget them and pass them on to future generations.

Sarah is a clear example of Reagan's ideas. She is a great communicator to the average American because she is and average American.

As an executive, she has cut taxes so that businesses can keep more of what they earn and create jobs. As Mayor of Wasilla she has gotten government out of the way so that Wasilla became the fastest growing town in Alaska. She then brought those ideas to her gubernatorial administration as Governor of Alaska.

From the 2008 Presidential Campaign up to now and possibly forever, supporters continuosly remember her and her message to Americans to keep standing for what we believe in and let anyone ever tell us to sit down and shut up. We must continue to uphold that message so that we may be remembered for believing in the country we live in and will be buried in.