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| − | {{template|This article was revised from {{{site|Wikipedia}}} but the text was originally written by BHathorn (under the name) and does not include alterations made by others from that site.|background=#aff|category=Copied Articles}} | + | {{template|This article is revised from {{{site|Wikipedia}}} but the text was originally written by BHathorn (under the name) and does not include alterations made by others from that site.|background=#aff|category=Copied Articles}} |
| | {{Infobox person | | {{Infobox person |
| | | name=Richard Royal Alexander<br> | | | name=Richard Royal Alexander<br> |
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| | ==Civic activities== | | ==Civic activities== |
| | Royal Alexander remains active in public life. He is a frequent lecturer to various civic and educational organizations regarding the United States Constitution. He also serves as an occasional media guest giving analysis on current political and social issues as they relate to the [[United States Constitution]]. He writes occasional opinion columns for ''The Shreveport Times.'' | | Royal Alexander remains active in public life. He is a frequent lecturer to various civic and educational organizations regarding the United States Constitution. He also serves as an occasional media guest giving analysis on current political and social issues as they relate to the [[United States Constitution]]. He writes occasional opinion columns for ''The Shreveport Times.'' |
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| | + | ==9/11 recollections== |
| | + | Alexander was in [[Washington, D.C.]], in a hotel in Crystal City, [[Virginia]], the night before September 11, 2001. He was raising funds for a comeback congressional bid waged in 2002 by former U.S. Representative Clyde Holloway, who was subsequently eliminated from the runoff election by another Republican, [[Lee Fletcher]], who was then narrowly defeated by [[Rodney Alexander]]. At the time of the attack on the [[Pentagon]], Alexander said that he: |
| | + | <blockquote> |
| | + | heard a roar. The sound startled me. I walked out to the parking lot of the hotel and looked across the way and saw black smoke billowing from a corner of the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, there was an exodus of terrified-looking people from the Pentagon into Crystal City. After this panic, D.C. was locked down. (D.C. was so eerily still, so dead, that I have imagined we would have to go back to our nation’s founders and their horse-drawn carriages to find a time the city was so silent and unmoving). … |
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| | + | 9/11 is indelibly imprinted in my memory both because of the evil that is reflected in such an act - and the more than 3,000 American lives tragically lost and because of the powerful sense of patriotism and unity that can exist in our great country when we stand together. |
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| | + | On this day, and on [[Veterans Day]] and [[Memorial Day]], I say a simple [[prayer]] in gratitude for those who have suffered and died on our behalf – and remind myself to strive to be worthy of their sacrifice. I include in my prayer the hope that we may find a way — without a tragedy — to be as united as we were then.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/09/11/royal-alexander-looking-back-9-11/5768474002/|title=LA reflecdtion on 9-11|publisher=''The Shreveport Times'' Letter to the Editor|author=Royal Alexander|accessdate=September 11, 201}}</ref></blockquote> |
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| | ===In search of the silent majority=== | | ===In search of the silent majority=== |