William Gilbert Quotes
… thrashing a cannibal
The English loved the operettas making fun of themselves. Some of the phrases such as this one ended up being used in serious political debate. See {616511}.
William Gilbert, 1836-1911, British Dramatist, Phrase used in the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas for colonial wars
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
See {613496} for the origin of the “thrashing a cannibal” phrase.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy had just been shot after winning the California Democratic presidential primary. The president addressed the nation on television:
A privately produced anti-Muslim video was used by Muslim activists throughout the world to whip up violent protests of the United States, Many people were killed. The President was explaining to world leaders the Western view of the importance of protecting free speech, even that which is blasphemous or hateful. One problem of course is that the Islamic holy scripture, The Koran, requires that a blasphemer be put to death. The Jewish and Christian Old Testament proscribes the SAME punishment, and there have been American Christians who have called for a return to literal Mosaic Law. Also ultra-orthodox Jews in America and Israel. The difference of the West is that literal interpretation of the Bible has been given up and the various Biblical Death penalties (including disobedient children and adulterers) and much of the Muslim world has not. For most of the West, democracy has tempered literal religion. For the Islamic world, literal religion has inhibited and obstructed democracy.
Ignorant political opposition to new scientific findings has been characteristic of some of the politicians in most governments in most eras.
- Born: November 18, 1836
- Died: May 29, 1911
- Nationality: British
- Profession: Composer
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte founded, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. These Savoy operas are still frequently performed in the English-speaking world and beyond.
