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This is a great take. I've taken this poem with me ever since my high school valedictorian introduced me to it in his speech. The popular response was "Kiplin
by nscalf 5y ago
This is a great take. I've taken this poem with me ever since my high school valedictorian introduced me to it in his speech. The popular response was "Kipling was a racist." Okay. Why do I love his work so much despite that?
Looking at why work persists despite the negatives is a far better practice than looking for negatives to belittle work.
- scarier 5y agoAgreed. I'm well aware that he was a racist, jingoist prick, but "If-" is one of my favorite poems of all time. On the flip side, I have a hard time reading poems like "The White Man's Burden" and "Gunga Din" as anything but fairly clever satire. Maybe that's a measure of progress?