American Faces: Samuel Clemens

Because the image of America has been so bastardized and unforgivably tarnished for eight LONG years by those greedy fucktwats in the Bush administration and their dimwitted cronies, I am starting a NEW SB Feature, called American Faces, in which I am going to feature the most distinguished figures in American history. The chosen faces are those who make me proud to be American, and I believe these men and women could not have hailed from any other country. These fine folks are distinctly and sublimely American, and they represent the best of who we are as a nation.

I start with Samuel Clemens intentionally because he was a highly liberal anti-war southerner, an excellent writer and essayist, a humanist, and one of my favorite faces of all time. I once spent nearly fifty dollars on a biography of Clemens, simply for his photo on the book jacket. It was worth every damn penny, and it sits, turned to front, on my bookshelf.

Mr. Clemens personified the best qualities of an American. He spoke out when things were wrong, and he also made people laugh because he knew how difficult life was. His own life was very difficult, and when he lost his grown daughter on Christmas Eve, he said, "I never greatly envied anybody but the dead. I always envy the dead."

Sadly, in the end, Mr. Clemens pretty much gave up on "the damned human race."

I love Sam Clemens very dearly, and for those of you who are interested, there is a wonderful documentary available on him by Ken Burns. You can purchase it on Amazon.com. It is highly recommended. I own a copy my-damn-self.