{"id":27047,"date":"2016-07-28T15:57:26","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T20:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=27047"},"modified":"2016-07-29T08:07:33","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T13:07:33","slug":"not-the-america-i-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=27047","title":{"rendered":"Not the America I know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2016-election\/trump-jr-says-obama-lifted-phrase-his-rnc-speech-n618916\" target=\"_blank\">Trump Jr. Says Obama Lifted Phrase From His RNC Speech<\/a>\", NBC News 7\/28\/2016:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Donald Trump Jr. suggested Thursday that Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia Wednesday night lifted a line from his Republican National Convention remarks, pointing out that both addresses contained the line \"That's not the America I know.\"<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">I'm honored that POTUS would plagiarize a line from my speech last week. Where's the outrage? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DemsInPhilly?src=hash\">#DemsInPhilly<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sFQ7fblpLh\">https:\/\/t.co\/sFQ7fblpLh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DonaldJTrumpJr\/status\/758682351849312256\">July 28, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But as I pointed out in <a href=\"http:\/\/itre.cis.upenn.edu\/~myl\/languagelog\/archives\/001156.html\" target=\"_blank\">a post back in July of 2004<\/a>), George W. Bush used the phrase \"That is not the America I know\" at least six times in 2001-2002.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The Congressional Record for 1976 apparently includes this passage:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">If that is America, <strong>that is not the America I know<\/strong>. It is not the way I have been brought up. It is not what that flag means to me. It is not what the Senate of the United States means to me.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/myl\/NotTheAmerica1976.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Click to embiggen\" src=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/myl\/NotTheAmerica1976.png\" width=\"450\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ejil.org\/pdfs\/11\/1\/520.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Kofi Annan used the phrase \"this is not the America I know\" in 2000<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/myl\/KofiAmericaIKnow.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Click to embiggen\" src=\"http:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/myl\/KofiAmericaIKnow.png\" width=\"490\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0letter to the Atlanta Journal Constitution in 2006 included this passage:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">What kind of country begs people to come here to work, then denies their children access to basic health care? <strong>That is not the America I know<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Hillary Clinton used the phrase <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/article\/Domestic-issues-dominate-debate-in-Austin-1752713.php\" target=\"_blank\">in a debate with Barack Obama in Austin TX in 2008<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Asked about federal immigration raids on homes and businesses, Clinton blasted raids that she said have left children and babies with no one to take care of them: \"<strong>That is not the America I know<\/strong>. That is against American values.\"<\/p>\n<p>Barack Obama used the same phrase in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/09\/09\/us\/politics\/09obama-text.html\" target=\"_blank\">a 2010 speech<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Cleveland, <strong>that is not the America I know<\/strong>. That is not the America we believe in.<\/p>\n<p>And Rick Perry used the phrase <a href=\"http:\/\/query.nytimes.com\/gst\/fullpage.html?res=9A00EFD81430F93BA35755C0A9649D8B63\" target=\"_blank\">in 2012<\/a>\u00a0:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\"For way too long the system has been gamed,\" Mr. Perry said. \"It's been gamed from Wall Street to K Street. Big banks get bailed out and small businesses get shut down. <strong>That's not the America I know.<\/strong> We're better than that.\"<\/p>\n<p>and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rickperry.org\/governor-perrys-remarks-to-the-eagle-forum\" target=\"_blank\">in 2015<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">A president who boldly claimed it was his goal to rid the world of nuclear weapons will have a legacy of nuclear proliferation. All because he places his trust in a regime that is the leading sponsor of state terrorism, in the word of radicals, in inspections that can be easily manipulated. \u00a0My friends, <strong>this is not the America I know<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>I'm sure that a more thorough search will turn up dozens of other examples, and thousands of examples\u00a0of \"this|that|it is not the X I know\", where X has some value other than <em>America &#8211;<\/em>&#8211; for example, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jackhyles.com\/arguewin.htm\" target=\"_blank\">this from a 1971 sermon<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\"That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked. That be far from thee.\" \"Lord,\" Abraham said, \"you said you are going to destroy Sodom. That is not like you. <strong>That is not the God I know<\/strong>. That be far from you to slay the righteous with the wicked.\"<\/p>\n<p>Or <a href=\"http:\/\/sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au\/stories\/raymartin\/259363\/after-the-cronulla-riots\" target=\"_blank\">this from 2003<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The images we just viewed nearly made me cry. <strong>This is not the Australia I know<\/strong>. This is not the Australia that I've been brought up in. I am so disgusted and angry and disappointed for my fellow Australians to be behaving and acting like this.<\/p>\n<p>Or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.contenderministries.org\/mormonism\/polytheism.php\" target=\"_blank\">this from 2005<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">LDS doctrine teaches that there are sins for which the blood of Christ cannot atone. \u00a0That is not the Jesus of the Bible. \u00a0<strong>That is not the Jesus I know<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Or this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.metrolyrics.com\/we-all-need-saving-lyrics-jon-mclaughlin.html\" target=\"_blank\">song from 2008<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">You have got to move on<br \/>\n<strong>This is not the you I know<\/strong><br \/>\nThis isn't real<br \/>\nIt's just all you can feel<br \/>\nAnd that's the way that feelings go<\/p>\n<p>Or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mlive.com\/mayweather\/2011\/09\/golden_boys_richard_schaefer_c.html\" target=\"_blank\">this from 2011<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The Oscar I know is not the Oscar in fishnet stockings, I'm sorry &#8212; and it will never be. And the same with Floyd. T<strong>hat is not the person I know<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Or\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/politics\/ed-miliband\/9316673\/Ed-Miliband-The-England-I-love-is-defined-by-its-spirit.html\" target=\"_blank\">this from 2012<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">[W]e also see the growth of a narrow, pessimistic English nationalism that does not represent the best of our nation; one that is hostile to the rest of Britain and the world. <strong>That is not the England I know.<\/strong> Patriotism is not necessarily claiming we are the best. It is about recognising and celebrating who we are.<\/p>\n<p>Or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpo.gov\/fdsys\/pkg\/CHRG-112shrg75215\/html\/CHRG-112shrg75215.htm\" target=\"_blank\">this, also from 2012<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">So all I would say is that when you read about it in the \u00a0paper from an anonymous source, it is very difficult for us to \u00a0investigate that type of an allegation. I would say, again, we \u00a0would like to know who, when, where, and why, and the names of \u00a0people, as well as who these people are who are condoning it. \u00a0And I will just tell you, sir, <strong>that is not the organization I \u00a0know<\/strong> that we would condone such behavior.<\/p>\n<p>As I pointed out in 2004, \"this|that|it is not the X I know\" is (an especially short example) of a what we've called a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Snowclone\" target=\"_blank\">snowclone<\/a>, namely a sort of meme-ified clich\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p>Do you think that\u00a0Donald J. Trump Jr. really believes that he invented the phrase, or is he just trolling?<\/p>\n<p>Update &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2016-election\/trump-jr-says-obama-lifted-phrase-his-rnc-speech-n618916\" target=\"_blank\">NBC News<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2016\/07\/28\/donald-trump-jr-says-obama-plagiarized-him-but-not-before-he-borrowed-from-obama-and-both-presidents-bush\/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_fix-trump-jr-340pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory\" target=\"_blank\">the Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0find a number of other examples, back to \"a top official in the Drug Enforcement Administration, David Westrate, who said at a National Press Club speech in 1989: 'My conclusion from that is that that really was not the America that I know.'\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\"Trump Jr. Says Obama Lifted Phrase From His RNC Speech\", NBC News 7\/28\/2016: Donald Trump Jr. suggested Thursday that Barack Obama's speech in Philadelphia Wednesday night lifted a line from his Republican National Convention remarks, pointing out that both addresses contained the line \"That's not the America I know.\" I'm honored that POTUS would plagiarize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-language-and-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27047"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27071,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27047\/revisions\/27071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}