Imperialism Theme of Politics

If it weren't a blatantly nasty move, Bryan probably would have called the Republican Party a gang of smelly, evil warmongers who beat up sweet little kittens on their free time. He undoubtedly would have also thrown in a few curse words, as well. But he was trying to play Mr. Nice Guy after all.

(Despite all this, he still managed to squeeze off a few insults towards the Republican Party.)

The "Imperialism" speech was inherently political. It was given at the Democratic National Convention. He was running on a Democrat ticket. On top of this, he was running against the guy (the Republican McKinley) he ran against (and lost to) last time. There's almost a hint of bitter resentment in those words. In other words, the point was to the make the Republicans look like the bad guys.

And who ever said politics gets nasty sometimes?

1. Was it fair of Bryan to characterize the Republican Party as all imperialists? Isn't there any room for complexity here?
2. Put yourself in the shoes of the Republican Party. How do you think they would have responded? Feel free to throw in your own insults and curse words if you want to spice things up a bit.
3. Was there any way to get around the whole imperialism debate with getting political?
4. How would Bryan's speech have been different if it were written for a Republican or politically mixed audience? What parts would have to be changed and why?

Bryan's speech at the Democratic Convention was not an effort to end empire; it was an attempt to demonize the entire Republican Party. Thinking this way trivialized the problems of empire and did more harm than good to the Filipino people. It's just too bad he didn't care about them as he cared about getting votes.

Despite all the fancy rhetoric and appeals to reason, Bryan's speech was just another political lecture. We get it. Democrats hate Republicans; Republicans hate Democrats. Because, you know, life and politics is all black and white like that. Once again, the horrible misshapen head of politics reared its ugly head, like it does during every presidential election, proving Bryan was no different than the other political haters.