Jeep – The Middle – Super Bowl LV Ad – Bruce Springsteen
Here are three questions I want you to consider, as we dive into this topic:
Have you ever been in (or can you imagine being in) circumstances where you were so lost that your only desperate desire was for someone to come along who could show you the way out?
Is there someone, when you think of them, who causes you to have an involuntary visceral reaction of loathing?
Now, if you found yourself in the desperate circumstances of Question #1 and the object of your loathing in Question #2 came along with fully reliable directions of how to get out, would you follow those directions and get out or would you spitefully remain in your misery?
Of course, I recognize that not everyone will answer these questions the same … especially in identifying the object/s of their loathing. Otherwise, though, I expect that the vast majority of you will answer similarly … particularly with Question #3. Incredibly, though, in recent days, I’ve seen many across the U.S. exhibiting the foolish opposite response of rejecting a message, containing much needed reliable directions, due to their lack of confidence in the messenger.
DESPERATE NEED
The polarization in the U.S. seems to have reached critical mass. As pointed out in the recent article Such A Time As This In America, without intervention, it may well result in civil war. Clearly, the U.S. is in desperate need of “reliable directions” in order to get out of these circumstances. Opinions on this topic have not been hard to come by but clear-cut solutions have not been as evident. Surprisingly to me, I saw the absolute best solution put forth in a Super Bowl LV TV Commercial. It told us this:
“There’s a chapel in Kansas, standing on the exact center of the lower 48 (U.S. States). It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here, in the middle. It’s no secret, the middle has been a hard place to get to lately, between Red and Blue, between serving and citizens, between our freedom and our fear. Now our fear has never been the best of who we are. And as for freedom it’s not the property of just the fortunate few, it belongs to us all. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, it’s what connects us and we need that connection. We need the middle. We just have to remember, the very soil we stand on is common ground. So, we can get there, we can make it to the mountaintop, through the desert and we will cross this divide. Our light has always found its way through the darkness. And there’s hope on the road up ahead.”
… To the Re-United States of America.
BOLD FULFILLMENT
The first in a series of recent articles entitled Beauty For Ashes, pointed out that American families, resting on the firm foundation of our communities, was once the strength of our social fabric. The second edition of Beauty For Ashes targeted the importance of restoring the stability of that firm foundation … the faith found in our houses of worship. The “chapel in the center (middle)”, as depicted in the recent Super Bowl commercial, represents that firm foundation. It recognizes that everything good in the world has faith in God as its foundation. The bad in the world, that many view as increasing at an ever accelerating pace, does not share that foundation.
REJECT THE MESSENGER
Sadly, many have foolishly rejected this message containing our desperately needed reliable directions due to their skepticism towards the messenger. The primary object of this skepticism has been Bruce Springsteen, who served as the actor in the Super Bowl LV Commercial. Initial skepticism here came from the view that, in reality, Springsteen isn’t the sort of person that he depicted in the commercial. That has been summed up in saying, “He appeared to be a Conservative, cowboy hat wearing, guy from the heartland. But he’s really a Liberal, earring wearing, guy from New Jersey.” Additionally, since the airing of the commercial, it came to light that Springsteen had recently been arrested and charged with a DWI during a visit to New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area. As a result, the commercial’s sponsor, Jeep, had the commercial removed from YouTube. Although the level of skepticism towards Jeep has not been nearly as intense as the skepticism towards Springsteen, the fact that this was a commercial that Jeep paid for has also detracted from the message being taken seriously.
RECEIVE THE MESSAGE
From my perspective, none of the skepticism outlined above has merit. Springsteen didn’t write the commercial. He was just the featured actor. I’d add that it’s unlikely he took the role because he needed the money or that he wanted more fame. Maybe he just thought it was a great message and he wanted to endorse it. Likewise with Jeep. Yes, it was a commercial that they paid for and no doubt, they hoped it would reflect well on them as a company. But, the only Jeep models featured in the commercial were models from the past, not current models. Maybe they, too, just thought the commercial contained a great message they wanted to endorse. Regardless, in order to get out of our present circumstances, the U.S. is in desperate need of the “reliable directions” contained in the message of this commercial. Even if this message had been delivered by the sort of objects of loathing that I described earlier, we would be absolute fools to reject the message as a result.
In writing this, I intend to speak to those who I believe still represent the vast majority of Americans. That is those who love America more than having their views on every political issue being fully adopted … more than their hatred for those whose views differ from theirs … more than their desire to get their “pound of flesh” from those who have opposed them, especially those who have done so in an unscrupulous way.
To help our perspective on this, I’m going to start with a Biblical illustration. I think you’ll agree with me that it’s fitting. It’s from the 3rd and 4th chapters of The Book of Esther. This Scriptural story takes place when most of the Jewish people remained in Babylon under the rule of King Ahasuerus, though they had been given permission to return to Jerusalem. The King had made an evil man, named Haman, his second in command. Haman hated the Jews and he convinced the King to issue a decree to annihilate all the Jews. At that time, neither the King nor Haman knew that the King’s beautiful and much beloved Queen, Esther, was Jewish. Esther was unaware that this decree would apply to her too and if she had any thoughts of how she might save the Jews from annihilation, it wasn’t apparent. Knowing this, Esther’s Uncle, Mordecai, who had raised her as his own Daughter, confronted her with this message:
“Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:13(b)-14
The polarization in the U.S. seems to have reached critical mass. Without intervention, it may well result in civil war. It strikes me that, most Americans, who love their country, may be finding themselves in a similar mindset about this as Esther did about the decree of King Ahasuerus to annihilate all the Jews. With that being the case, the logical question then is, “How do we constructively apply Mordecai’s admonition to Esther, to result in the urgently needed intervention with America’s acute polarization?”
American Civil War Cemetery
ESCAPE?
Part One of Mordecai’s message was the admonition, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.” There is also truth in that for all Americans today. Perhaps due to our rich history of meeting and overcoming monumental challenges, it’s not uncommon for Americans to think of themselves as invincible. From our beginning, in our Revolutionary War, we took on and defeated Great Britain, then the world’s greatest superpower. And, arguably, America’s greatest victory was in WWII, emerging victorious over the Axis, a coalition of nations bent on world dominance who were, initially, vastly superior in their military preparedness. Somehow, with this invincible mentality, we tend to ignore the military engagement in which the most American lives were lost … the American Civil War. A war in which, since it pitted American against fellow-American, it was impossible for America to emerge victorious. In this conflict, 618, 000 American lives were lost. It nearly fulfilled a proclamation that had been made a quarter-century earlier by the man who was U.S President during that war, Abraham Lincoln. A paraphrase of this proclamation says,
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we lose our freedoms it will be because we have destroyed ourselves from within.”
Paraphrased from Abraham Lincoln’s 1838 speech at the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois.
In large part, thanks to Lincoln’s great leadership, though it came incredibly close, America managed to avoid destroying itself from within via civil war. But, it should serve as proof positive to all Americans that it’s very unlikely for us to survive a second American Civil War in the 21st century. So, like Queen Esther, we need to understand that this would have a dreadful effect on us all and we all should be deadly serious about it.
PERISH?
Part Two of Mordecai’s message, another admonition, was, “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.” Here, too, there is similar truth in that for all Americans. In fact, without even trying to listen too closely, you can hear it in the news right now. For quite some time China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have been watching events in the U.S. like a hawk, just waiting for opportunities to pounce. That’s been especially true since the tragedy of the Capitol Riot on January 6, 2021. The “relief and deliverance” that would come from any of these sources for the American people would mean the utter end of “The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”.
HOPE?
Part Three of Mordecai’s message was an admonition containing a note of hope, saying, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” My greatest aspiration in writing this is to motivate the vast majority of Americans, who I defined earlier, to take it to heart that we are in a time that could easily lead to the demise of the land we love and to recognize that, “For such a time as this”, we must commit to individually doing our level best to avert this impending disaster.
Obviously, with all this said, the outstanding question each of must have is, “What can I do, as an individual, to positively impact our staggeringly overwhelming circumstances?” Well, I don’t have all the answers but I do think it’s helpful to start with the attitude expressed by answering the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” That answer is, “One bite at a time”. But, even with that mindset in place, the initial question remains and as stated above, I don’t have all the answers. However, I believe those answers can come to us through some serious introspection. To give an example of what I’m suggesting, below, I’m offering an approach, both for the Right and for the Left, that could help in healing our land.
FROM THE RIGHT
Consider that you may have developed tunnel vision about “Stop The Steal”. Certainly, there were irregularities in the November 3rd 2020 election. They all need to be investigated and fixed. But continuing to insist that it’s what cost President Trump reelection is not realistic and doing so is counterproductive. The key factor contributing to President Trump’s 2020 Election loss was President Trump himself … more specifically, it was his egotistical behavior in response to all the hatred aimed at him. I, first recognized this following the first Presidential debate. At that time, voting had not begun and there was a legitimate set of undecided voters. Most of them were considering whether they should vote for a guy whose administration had accomplished many good things while he sometimes showed that he could behave like a jackass or vote for a guy who seemed well past his prime and represented old-school politics. Disappointingly, in that debate, President Trump provided a stunningly clear reminder about his tendency to behave like a jackass and most of those undecided voters moved away from the President. From that point forward, that erroneous direction of the President’s ego just picked up steam, rolling like a juggernaut. It culminated in the Capitol Riot of January 6, 2021. I don’t know what was in President Trump’s heart leading up to this event. I don’t believe he meant to incite a riot. But, I do believe he should accept responsibility for, following the November 3rd 2020 election, allowing his ego to set his followers on a volatile course, with very destructive potential. Whether you fully agree with me or not, continuing to beat the “Stop The Steal” drum and denying the President’s role in the demise of his own presidency is counterproductive. It’s time to accept this, to be as supportive of the new president as possible and to work toward more productive ways of effecting Conservative views.
FROM THE LEFT
Consider that you may have developed tunnel vision about President Trump and his supporters. As a case in point, consider that you don’t know what was in President Trump’s heart leading up to the Capitol Riot of January 6, 2021. Certainly, you can hold the view that he should accept responsibility for the ego-driven failed leadership of his supporters following the 2020 Election. But, impeachment is not justified. It only demonstrates the hateful desire for revenge and it’s unlikely to succeed. Continuing to pursue it is counterproductive. Concurrent with this event was the meeting of the Electoral College. At that meeting, a number of Republican legislators posed challenges to the legitimacy of the election results in several states. As a result, there has been a movement to take punitive actions towards these individuals. But what these lawmakers did was fully constitutional and in fact, similar challenges were posed by Democrats in several 21st century meetings of the Electoral College. Furthermore, while it may not have made a difference in the outcome of the 2020 Election, there were voting irregularities across the nation. The constructive approach here would be to call for a halt to the vindictive efforts against the Republican legislators mentioned and to call for investigating all voting irregularities and fixing their sources. It’s time to accept these realities and to look for the most productive ways of working with the half of the nation who don’t share your Liberal views, who are your fellow-Americans.
Post-Destruction America?
E PLURIBUS UNUM
Last May, in an article entitled Wounded Giant, in the early stages of the COVID crisis, I outlined how, in facing this crisis, Americans working together with one accord seemed to be creating an ideal environment for the healing of its great wound brought on by deep divisiveness on social issues. Obviously, we missed that chance. Over 12 years ago, in an article entitled The President Bush/Senator Daschle Hug – 7 Years Later, I pointed out how we had missed one of our greatest opportunities for that on 9/11, nearly 20 years ago. My prayer is that we all will take time for the introspection I recommend, on each and every issue. That we won’t miss this, perhaps our last, opportunity to heal our land. That we won’t make the scene depicted above, from the movie planet of the Apes, an inevitable reality.
OUR HEALING ATTITUDE
In order to assure that America avoided destroying itself from within, at the conclusion of the American Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed the right attitude for our nation’s healing, in saying:
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.“
President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (1865)
This is the same healing attitude we must adopt today, if we are to avoid allowing America destroying itself from within.
A health worker at a COVID-19 testing site in Inglewood, CA.
DEEPLY WOUNDED – PRE-COVID-19
The world is becoming increasingly eager to get past the COVID-19 nightmare, to return to “life as usual”. In doing that, we tend to think of the things we miss and that, when we have those things back, life will be wonderful again. As a result of that myopia, we forget … there was much about “life as usual” before COVID-19 that wasn’t so great.
The pre-COVID-19 U.S. was miserably split. Nothing exemplified this more than the rift between those who support President Trump and those who oppose him. But, the U.S. population was just as divided on social issues such as; Gun Control, Abortion, Religious Freedom, Climate Change, Traditional Marriage, Immigration, Reparations, etc. While remaining the world’s leading superpower, this ever increasing discord was making the U.S. a deeply wounded giant … perhaps, even, mortally wounded.
SOCIAL HEALING DURING THE CRISIS
California Governor Gavin Newsom Praises President Trump
In spite of holding opposing views of their President and of numerous political issues, the vast majority of Americans have worked harmoniously in facing the COVID-19 crisis. One of the best examples of that, among U.S. leaders, came from California Governor, Gavin Newsom, paying compliments to President Trump. Newsom and Trump hold disparate views on most issues. So much so that, prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic, it would have been most likely to hear them express unflattering opinions of each other. And yet, Governor Newsom has been very complimentary of President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, saying, “… I have to be complimentary. Otherwise, I would simply be lying to you, misleading you …”
Thankfully, seeing Americans work together with one accord, in facing the COVID-19 crisis, hasn’t been limited to its leadership. Many Americans have joyfully embraced the kinship they’ve rediscovered as they came together in battling this pandemic. It’s been obvious that, as a positive side-effect of the current crisis, this affinity has created an ideal environment for the healing of the great wound brought on by America’s deep divisiveness on social issues. But, there has remained a foreboding undercurrent indicating, that, when the U.S. returns to “life as usual”, that could mean the population returning to being miserably split. While many have been treasuring the sense of good will and the considerable potential for healing, it seems that a stubborn group of spoilers have remained who are all too willing to keep picking at America’s great wound.
AGGRAVATING THE WOUND
Surgeon General Adams – Love and Protect Your Elders
Obvious examples of this are Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, Jerry Nadler, etc.; who, even during this crisis, continue to lurk in the background, awaiting the slightest excuse for trying to bring down President Trump. But, the saddest and most troubling example of this, for me, was the criticism leveled at Surgeon General Jerome Adams by TV Host Claudia Jordan. Jordan’s criticism was aimed at Adams’ use of certain terms of endearment in encouraging Americans to be especially protective of their elders vis-a-vis the Coronavirus. The terms the Surgeon General used included “Abuela” and “Big Mama”. According to Jordan, his use of these terms was offensive to African Americans and Latinos. It should be noted that Adams is African American and in defending his comments, he noted that his Brother-in-law is Puerto Rican.
While the destructive efforts of Pelosi and company are pretty easy to see through, it’s counter-productivity like theirs that feed the foreboding undercurrent evidenced by Jordan’s criticism of Surgeon General Adams. There is much to admire about Jerome Adams, not the least of which is his achieving the high position of Surgeon General. I would argue, however, that the love he showed in caring for his Grandparents’ generation demonstrated an even more admirable quality. Why, then, did Ms. Jordan find his comments to be so offensive? I believe it was, clearly, the result of preconceived notions and looking for any excuse to justify being offended.
CONTINUING THE HEALING
I’ve heard it said that, when a hammer is the only thing you have in your toolbox, everything can look like a nail to you. That may be a fitting explanation for how Claudia Jordan arrived at her conclusions about General Adams’ comments. If we truly aspire to attain a more wonderful “life as usual” following the COVID-19 crisis, attitudes like this must be discouraged. Certainly, once the COVID-19 crisis is past, we need to look back on how we dealt with it. But, in doing this, we should be looking to fix the problem, not to fix the blame.The primary objectives of this review should be: (1) How to avoid such occurrences and (2) How to be better prepared for such occurrences.
No one manages any crisis perfectly. But, metaphorically, I view President Trump and his COVID-19 Task Force as an exceptional team fielded by a skillful Quarterback. And, continuing with that metaphor, the last thing we have needed during this crisis and going forward, is one or more Monday-morning Quarterbacks. That is a sure-fire way to deepen the wounds of the pre-COVID-19 U.S., rather than to heal them. If there’s any justification for fixing blame here, it most rightly belongs to those who chose to keep Monday-morning Quarterbacking during the COVID-19 crisis when they could have been contributing to finding solutions for the crisis rather than exacerbating it.
DON’T REOPEN THE WOUND
In order for the U.S. to emerge from this COVID-19 nightmare to a more wonderful “life as usual”, its citizens must take full advantage of the opportunity for healing afforded by the good will that has been present during this crisis. Furthermore, once this crisis passes, the healing needs to continue and the reopening of wounds should not be tolerated. To accomplish this, every American must first discipline themselves to be as harmonious in working with their fellow-Americans as they have been during the crisis. Candidly, doing so afterwards will be more challenging than it is presently. Striving together for survival of the Coronavirus has made it easy to define common ground. Following the crisis, however, finding common ground on deeply divisive social issues may seem more elusive. The key here will be to maintain the present attitude of good will in earnestly working together to find common ground. That shouldn’t mean compromising deeply held personal values. But, it will require listening to the views of those who see things differently than you and doing so without holding an attitude that they are somehow mentally and/or morally inferior.
Is it just me or do many of you wish that you could find a viable alternative to making a choice between a self-serving inept felon and a volatile ego maniacal jackass, as the next President of the United States? Of course, though sarcastic, that’s a rhetorical question. I know that very many, if not most, of my fellow Americans share a similar view. Later, I’ll offer empirical evidence of that.
Some will suggest that throwing your support to a third-party candidate is a viable alternative. That’s only half true. It is an alternative but it isn’t viable. Regardless of your third-party vote, Clinton or Trump will be the next POTUS and you will have changed nothing.
CHANGE-MAKING ALTERNATIVES?
In order to find a viable alternative to this dilemma, I suggest stepping back and taking a fresh look at our concerns about the nominees of the two major parties. Up to now, I’ve seen this assessment include:
• Choose between the lesser of two evils.
• Are they evil or just flawed?
• Are they unfit or just unacceptable?
• Are they immoral or just unwise?
• The fear of what he says versus the fear of what she does.
• For different reasons, neither can be trusted.
Frankly, I find each of these considerations to be somewhat reasonable. But they don’t really lead to a viable alternative that positively impacts the ongoing devolution in American politics. Ironically, I heard the solution summed up in a statement made by Hillary Clinton that was, as usual, meant to demean Donald Trump. She said,
“We need to stand up as a people and say that America is better than (this)!”
I wholeheartedly agree and absent a truly acceptable alternative candidate, I firmly believe it calls for an unorthodox approach to making the changes so many of us have been crying out for in American politics. It means refusing to continue to vote for “the lesser of two evils” and only voting for candidates who are truly deserving of your vote. What I’m recommending is that all of us who share the frustration expressed in my opening paragraph refuse to vote for any of 2016’s presidential candidates, while voting for every down-ticket candidate who deserves our support. I think of it as …
… A Presidential Voters Strike for Our Union.
I know that many will, at least initially, say that my recommendation is crazy, it will effect no change and that either Clinton or Trump will still be the next POTUS. No doubt, the latter is true and it’s going to take all of U.S. pulling together, finally setting aside our ever deepening polarization, to survive whichever one is elected. This Voters Strike could be the first step in that movement and I believe it can effect the changes we long for. I want to offer my logic, that I believe is fully sane, by presenting the empirical evidence I alluded to earlier. Continue reading →
“The events in Ferguson, Mo., have launched a familiar spectacle: the race to be wrong first. … (L)egions of too-often interchangeable activists, commentators and reporters … have convinced themselves that we know exactly what happened, or at least all we need to know. Al Sharpton, with decades of racial ambulance chasing under his belt, insists that ‘America is on trial’ in Ferguson.”
Although I think Goldberg is dead right here, including his characterization of Sharpton, in a way, I agree with Sharpton’s statement. However, I think it’s more accurate to say “Americans are on trial in Ferguson”. No doubt, the implication of Sharpton’s statement is that America is on trial regarding how one ethnic group or members of that group, namely African-Americans, are treated by the rest of the nation. To the contrary, I see Ferguson as a trial; maybe even a final exam, to determine our willingness and thus our ability, to stand together as Americans, regardless of ethnic descent.
Recently, in a Fox News Special Report All-Star panel discussion I heard a panelist use the phrase “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People”. That discussion focused on the persecution Christians are experiencing in a part of Iraq now under the control of the jihadist group knows as ISIL (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – a/k/a ISIS). Specifically, ISIL has given Christians (who have been living in that area for 2,000 years, pre-dating Muslims by 600 years) an ultimatum to convert to Islam or get out and/or be fined and/or face death. Since I wasn’t familiar with the Saturday people/Sunday people phrase, I researched it and I was embarrassed to learn that it’s been in use for quite awhile. In fact, it’s found in the title of a best-selling book, by Lela Gilbert, published in 2012. The following excerpt from Ms. Gilbert’s Weekly Standard blog helped me begin to understand this phrase and its background:
“‘First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People.’ Such graffiti can sometimes be found in Muslim neighborhoods in the Middle East. The ‘Saturday People’ are, of course, Jews, today nearly gone from Muslim lands. Now the ‘Sunday people’—Christians— are in the crosshairs, and they, too, are fleeing at an alarming rate. Both religions are unwelcome in many Muslim-majority lands for reasons of Islamist ideology—the declaration of jihad, or holy war, against infidels.”Continue reading →
“It’s amateur hour at the White House. So says New York Times bestselling author Edward Klein in his new political exposé The Amateur. Tapping into the public’s growing sentiment that President Obama is in over his head, The Amateur argues that Obama’s toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance have run our nation and his presidency off the rails. ‘Obama was both completely inexperienced and ideologically far to the left of Americans when he entered the White House,’ says Klein. ‘And he was so arrogant that he didn’t even know what he didn’t know.’… From Obama’s conceited and detached demeanor, to his detrimental reliance on Michelle Obama and Valerie Jarrett’s advice, to the Obama’s extravagant and out-of-touch lifestyle, The Amateur reveals a president whose blatant ignorance and incompetence is sabotaging himself, his presidency, and America.”
MY GROWING SENTIMENT
Of course, at the time of its publication, there were reviews praising it (generally, by right-leaning individuals/organizations), as well as reviews trashing it (generally, by left-leaning individuals/organizations). Since the book’s publication date was well into the primary season for the 2012 presidential election, it came at a time when I had already decided to vote for the Republican Presidential Nominee that November. So, although I don’t think my views were quite as harsh as those presented by the Google eBooks synopsis, I’d say that I had come to be in general agreement with its theme. Since then, sadly, I believe that President Obama has continued to prove that Klein’s allegations were completely accurate, if not understated. And, sadder still, affirmation of this truth seems to continue to grow and even accelerate, on a nearly daily basis.
WHAT I PRAYED FOR
Undoubtedly, those whose reviews trashed Klein’s book professed that he had only assembled his assertions to support opinions of Obama that he had held from the outset of his presidency. And, I’m just as sure that they would level the same charges at me. With that, I’d remind them of an article I wrote at the time of President Obama’s first inaugural, entitled A Prayer in Baltimore. In that piece, I said: Continue reading →
In a recent article, entitled President Washington’s Day, I proposed changing from a Presidents Day, which celebrates all U.S. presidents past and present, to a President’s Day … President George Washington’s Day, to recognize Washington as the one who exemplifies true greatness in the office of president. Although I believe that Washington did clearly set the standard for true greatness in that office, it doesn’t mean that he is the only president deserving of being honored for true greatness. With that said, it does beg the question, how does one measure true greatness among the 44 who have held the office of U.S. President?
It struck me that, to answer this question, a good place to start might be to take a look at the criteria used to select the presidents whose statues appear on Mount Rushmore. In doing that, you find that Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who conceived the idea of the Mount Rushmore Memorial, defined his concept by saying:
“The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.”
These four criteria … founding, expansion, preservation and unification … aren’t necessarily the best and only way to gauge true greatness among those who had served as U.S. President up to the time of the Mount Rushmore Memorial’s dedication in 1936. However, it would be most difficult to argue with the choices that Borglum made – i.e. Washington for founding, Jefferson for expansion, Theodore Roosevelt for preservation and Lincoln for unification. Of course, both expansion and unification are criteria that could come into play again. But, preservation is the one that seems to have the most ongoing significance. Since I see preservation as being at the heart of Here I Raise My Ebenezer’s aim to serve as a platform for presenting views that support America’s founding ideals, that is the basis I’ll use here, in considering which presidents, who have served since 1936, have shown true greatness that would merit their being added to the Mount Rushmore Memorial.
As I also noted in the article entitled President Washington’s Day, there are two presidents who have served since 1936 who have so dishonored the office that I would object to their being honored in this way. These are Nixon and Clinton. Likewise, I see it as inappropriate to include those who may have been great at getting elected but who were inferior leaders. My list here includes: Kennedy, Johnson, Ford, Carter and Obama. That leaves Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43.
For me, the clear and obvious choice is President Ronald Reagan. Preservation and restoration of America’s founding ideals were hallmarks of his administration. He took on the leadership of an America that had been diminished by that waste of a war in Vietnam, the shame of Watergate and the socioeconomic malaise that ensued. And, without pointing the finger of blame at any predecessor, he inspired our return to socioeconomic wellbeing by leading us towards an America that he always described as “a shining city on a hill.”
Of course, I understand that not everyone will agree with my assessment here. If you, at least, agree that, in honoring those who have served as U.S. President, it’s important for us to only recognize those who exemplify true greatness, whether or not you agree with my criteria for selection or the list of those I’d exclude from consideration or my list of those I’d include for consideration or my ultimate selection of President Reagan, I’d like to hear from you. Likewise, if you are in agreement with my process and my conclusion, I’d welcome hearing your added thoughts on the topic.
Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it was traditionally celebrated on February 22, Washington’s actual day of birth. However, according to History.com, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.
ALL PRESIDENTS, GREAT AND SMALL?!
I think it was a damaging mistake to change from honoring the best of our presidents, as we did when I was growing up, to celebrating them all, as is done today. No doubt, some will say that my lament here is nothing more than me being sentimental about how things were “back in the day” but I truly see this shift as resulting in a loss for our culture. I see it as being akin to the philosophies of “no winners or losers” and “everyone gets a trophy”. With these, in what is likely to have started as a well-intentioned attempt to protect those with lesser abilities from being mistreated, the result is a homogenous society where all are rewarded equally, regardless of what effort is applied to their varying sets of talent. And, since there is no greater reward associated with greater effort and/or greater ability, the incentive to actually strive for greatness has been dramatically diminished. That seems to me like just the opposite of the standard we should be setting in establishing a holiday in recognition of America’s presidents.
Of course, I recognize that some may view Presidents’ Day as just being meant to honor the office. I’m OK with that but I believe most Americans look at Presidents’ Day in the way History.com described it, “… a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.” With that being the case, I ask: Have they all been great and are they all deserving of being honored as such? In looking at the list of 44 U.S. Presidents, I think it’s pretty obvious that the answers to these questions are no and no. As a matter of fact, there have been two in my lifetime who have so dishonored the office that I would object to their being honored with their own holiday. One of these famously said, “I am not a crook.” He was. The other just as famously said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” He did. Ironically, with both of these, if not for their acts which truly dishonored the office, they might have been remembered as among our best presidents, if not among the greatest.
THE GREATEST OF THE GREAT
Thankfully, many of our 44 presidents have been distinguished. But I think there are just a few who were truly great. Chief among them is President Washington. In addition to the fact that he will always hold a unique position, as Father of Our Country, there are many other aspects of his life that can be pointed to as great. Arguably, one of the greatest things about his presidency was something that he didn’t do. He could have become King George I of the USA or U.S. President for lifetime. But, in keeping with the objectives set forth in the U.S. Constitution, that were ‘in order to form a more perfect union”, Washington willingly relinquished his presidential authority in 1796, at the end of his second term. In an article entitled The Wisdom of George Washington, Hoover.org provides the following comparison to illustrate how very exceptional this act was:
The world’s most generous prize money is attached not to the Nobel Prize but to the Mo Ibrahim Prize, awarded for good governance in Africa, as determined by a very simple test: a democratically elected leader who actually leaves office at the end of his term. The winner receives five million dollars plus two hundred thousand dollars a year for life. The 53 African nations yielded one claimant in 2011, but none for the two years previous. The precedent set by George Washington has not been easy to establish elsewhere, prize money or not.
With this in mind, rather than continuing with a Presidents’ Day that honors all U.S. presidents past and present, I’d like to see us return to honoring George Washington, as the Father of Our Country and as the U.S. President who set the standard for true greatness in that office. Whether we do this on the third Monday in February or on February 22, Washington’s actual day of birth, doesn’t matter to me. What does matter to me is preserving America’s founding ideals. As this relates to the subject at hand, I see it as inappropriate to include those who may have only been great at getting elected but who were inferior leaders, when we set aside a special day in appreciation of the office of U.S. President. Rather, I see it as most fitting to observe a President’s Day … President Washington’s Day, to recognize the one who showed the most honor to the office through greater effort applied to greater ability, as our nation’s leader.
Although I didn’t vote for Barack Obama, I do want his presidency to be successful. However, as the public celebratory events started on the weekend prior to Obama’s inauguration, I have to admit that I wasn’t drawn to join in the celebration. In fact, I found myself going into sort of an “auto-tune-out” mode. I suspect I’m not alone in this. However, I really do want to be supportive of the Obama administration where I can and I want to encourage others to do likewise so, while my reaction is probably pretty natural, I want to be on guard about it.
I guess this is just one of those situations that, growing up in Indiana, we would define as, “Says Easy but Does Hard.” Thankfully, something broke through my “auto-tune-out” that I’m finding to be helpful on the “Does” part. It took place on the Saturday prior to the inauguration, as the Obama Train, making it’s way to Washington, D.C., made a stop in Baltimore. Prior to Obama’s introduction, to speak at Baltimore’s War Memorial Plaza, Dr. Walter Scott Thomas, of Baltimore’s New Psalmist Baptist Church, strode to the podium, to open the ceremony in prayer. I’ve only been able to find one link for a video of Dr. Thomas’ prayer and its incomplete, but here are the highlights that caught my attention: Continue reading →
