Yesterday President Barack Obama attended the funeral service of the slain pastor of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston SC, the Revd Clementa Pinckney. He delivered the Revd Pickney’s eulogy. The President’s message lasted a little over 37 minutes. In conclusion the President led the congregation in a verse of Amazing Grace.
Photo from YahooNews.com
Posted by David Allen
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Proposed correction: “in conclusion the President led… ”
First, “lead” is either a noun or a present-tense verb. The past tense of “lead” is “led.” That is not debatable.
Second, would you refer to Elizabeth II as “the queen” or to Francis as “the pope”? When using the title of the office to refer to the person (i.e., in place of the person’s name), it is appropriate to capitalize, especially when the person is a world leader (e.g., you would not capitalize “the president of General Motors”). I realize that there are style manuals that say otherwise, but let’s err on the side of respect for the office and consistency. Are the Queen and the Pope more honored than the President?
Sorry Tom Hudson, English is not my first language. And in Spanish we have different capitalization. I’ve made your requested corrections. I have even italicized the name of the hymn. That’s also correct, no?
Bro David
Don’t take tedious feedback too much to heart Bro David. As you note, the use of caps varies from language to language. There are differences from French to English for example. Besides, I don’t think anyone of us is going to win a Pulitzer for web postings. Enjoyed the article. I only wish my French was as fluid as your English appears to be.
Do you mean 30 minutes? When the President started singing “Amazing Grace,” my first thought was, “He better keep his day job”. Other than that he hit every note from racism to guns perfectly.
Before you criticize: have you ever sung for a murdered friend? [I consider myself a fairly accomplished church singer, and would be Damn Lucky (blessed) to sing as well as the President did under those circumstances!]
I don’t know Paul, I watched the entire speech on the BBC world service ( Canadian media does not like to cover religious news unfiltered). Once President Obama gives up his “day job”, he might consider a calling as a preacher. His eulogy was moving , dynamic, and very pastoral. Makes you hopeful that Obama might make a great contribution as an elder statesman when he leaves office. In any event, I hope you folks appreciate how fortunate you are to have this particular president of the United States of America.