We live in a time that will almost certainly be remembered in history. Revolutions are sweeping across the middle east, a region of the world that has known nothing but repressive dictatorships over the last century or so.
The United States has always had a complicated relationship with this region of the world.
One of the first bold international acts of America was to take revenge upon the Barbary States of Morocco and Algiers for routinely capturing American merchant ships and demanding ransoms for the sailor's lives. The young U.S. Navy took the fight to the enemy, attacking the actual cities where the pirates made their home base (This is where the 'Shores of Tripoli' line came from in the famous military song).
That was in the old days when the United States followed a humble foreign policy which restricted us to protecting our own interests and fighting only those battles that represented a direct threat to the nation's interest and avoiding 'entangling alliances'.
We're now bombing Libya for the second time in our history and although it's certainly a noble cause, it would be prudent to evaluate the extent we're willing to further enter into the affairs of the middle east which are the very definition of entangling alliances.
2/21/11
Presidents Day 2011
As I've written before, Presidents day is to celebrate the founder of our nation as well as the savior of our country, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Now that over 150 years have passed since the death of both men, much about them has been simplified and/or lost. George Washington's early doubts about the revolution and his identification of himself as a British Gentleman not being given his due by the empire has been replaced by a cartoonish figure of a fire breathing patriot.
Abe Lincoln is portrayed as a messianic, stoic figure, but much of his warmth, humor and humanity has been lost.
Beyond the historical truth of both men, I'm left to wonder how much of Presidents Day in this modern age is really even about them.
During MLK Day, we get television programming and at least lip service to black history as we should. But on Presidents Day, we get advertisements for used car dealerships and half off sales at department stores.
I'm not sure if there's anything wrong with this. Many still live that remember MLK's speeches whereas Washington and Lincoln are in such the distant past, that they're little more than marble statues in the minds of most Americans now.
However, I think that we should at least pause for a few minutes and remember Washington's era when America was simply an idea and Lincoln's vision of the United States having to make the right moral choice at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives. This should put the nation's current concern over decline of our absolute world dominance in perspective.
Now that over 150 years have passed since the death of both men, much about them has been simplified and/or lost. George Washington's early doubts about the revolution and his identification of himself as a British Gentleman not being given his due by the empire has been replaced by a cartoonish figure of a fire breathing patriot.
Abe Lincoln is portrayed as a messianic, stoic figure, but much of his warmth, humor and humanity has been lost.
Beyond the historical truth of both men, I'm left to wonder how much of Presidents Day in this modern age is really even about them.
During MLK Day, we get television programming and at least lip service to black history as we should. But on Presidents Day, we get advertisements for used car dealerships and half off sales at department stores.
I'm not sure if there's anything wrong with this. Many still live that remember MLK's speeches whereas Washington and Lincoln are in such the distant past, that they're little more than marble statues in the minds of most Americans now.
However, I think that we should at least pause for a few minutes and remember Washington's era when America was simply an idea and Lincoln's vision of the United States having to make the right moral choice at the cost of hundreds of thousands of American lives. This should put the nation's current concern over decline of our absolute world dominance in perspective.
2/9/11
Garfield: Self Made Man
Many presidents in the early and mid 1800's demonstrate the level of upward mobility that was available in America at that time.
Andrew Jackson left his home state of North Carolina a practically penniless young man whose parents had passed away and found the respect and adventure he craved in the Tennessee militia. He became a military hero in the war of 1812 and ultimately had a career that culminated in the White House.
Abe Lincoln was the most famous president of humble means. He really was born in a log cabin, the son of a bumbling farmer for a father. He had to move several times due to land title disputes in Kentucky and Indiana and taught himself to read and write. He left home and took several odd jobs to earn a living and ultimately ended up practicing law and getting involved in local politics. Having no real military experience beyond the Black Hawk War, he poured over military strategy manuals and led the nation through the Civil War.
Garfield certainly belongs on this list of Presidents that rose from humble means along with less well know commanders in chief such as Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore.
Garfield was brought up in a log cabin in rural Ohio by a single mother. He spent his childhood working on neighbors farms to bring in some income to reduce the crushing poverty his mother faced. He learned to read in a wooden hut in village and borrowed as many books he could growing up. He went on to a local college and eventually became its administrator. He held the role of teacher, preacher, soldier and had many other occupations before he entered politics.
There's still far too much corruption and money in politics, however it's refreshing that so many men in America rose beyond the circumstances of their birth to achieve the highest office of the land.
Andrew Jackson left his home state of North Carolina a practically penniless young man whose parents had passed away and found the respect and adventure he craved in the Tennessee militia. He became a military hero in the war of 1812 and ultimately had a career that culminated in the White House.
Abe Lincoln was the most famous president of humble means. He really was born in a log cabin, the son of a bumbling farmer for a father. He had to move several times due to land title disputes in Kentucky and Indiana and taught himself to read and write. He left home and took several odd jobs to earn a living and ultimately ended up practicing law and getting involved in local politics. Having no real military experience beyond the Black Hawk War, he poured over military strategy manuals and led the nation through the Civil War.
Garfield certainly belongs on this list of Presidents that rose from humble means along with less well know commanders in chief such as Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore.
Garfield was brought up in a log cabin in rural Ohio by a single mother. He spent his childhood working on neighbors farms to bring in some income to reduce the crushing poverty his mother faced. He learned to read in a wooden hut in village and borrowed as many books he could growing up. He went on to a local college and eventually became its administrator. He held the role of teacher, preacher, soldier and had many other occupations before he entered politics.
There's still far too much corruption and money in politics, however it's refreshing that so many men in America rose beyond the circumstances of their birth to achieve the highest office of the land.
1/17/11
#20: Garfield: 100 days in office
1881
Sometimes getting assassinated does wonders for your career as a president. For example, look at JFK who although he's fondly remembered, was a much more divisive leader than people today realize.
Sometimes, getting killed in office just makes people forget you. This is unfortunately the case with Garfield who was really neither loved or hated and went from president into a historical foot note after he was assassinated 100 days into his term.
Garfield's legacy can be considered civil service reform, which he supported and Chester Arthur (his Vice President) enacted.
The very idea that he'd be remembered as a man who would reduce the role of 'spoils' politics is ironic. Garfield was elected only with the support of Senator Roscoe Conkling who mobilized the political machine he informally ran in New York to vote for Garfield. Without the support of the very machine that Garfield's reform sought to reduce, Garfield would have lost the election.
The fact that Arthur pushed Garfield's desired reform after he assumed the presidency is even more ironic. Arthur made his career in Manhattan as a loyal party man, coming up through the ranks of Conkling's machine.
I can think of a couple presidents that would have been much more fondly remembered if they had been killed early on in their terms, but we'll never know which category Garfield would have fit into.
Sometimes getting assassinated does wonders for your career as a president. For example, look at JFK who although he's fondly remembered, was a much more divisive leader than people today realize.
Sometimes, getting killed in office just makes people forget you. This is unfortunately the case with Garfield who was really neither loved or hated and went from president into a historical foot note after he was assassinated 100 days into his term.
Garfield's legacy can be considered civil service reform, which he supported and Chester Arthur (his Vice President) enacted.
The very idea that he'd be remembered as a man who would reduce the role of 'spoils' politics is ironic. Garfield was elected only with the support of Senator Roscoe Conkling who mobilized the political machine he informally ran in New York to vote for Garfield. Without the support of the very machine that Garfield's reform sought to reduce, Garfield would have lost the election.
The fact that Arthur pushed Garfield's desired reform after he assumed the presidency is even more ironic. Arthur made his career in Manhattan as a loyal party man, coming up through the ranks of Conkling's machine.
I can think of a couple presidents that would have been much more fondly remembered if they had been killed early on in their terms, but we'll never know which category Garfield would have fit into.
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