Had a friend long ago who revered Eleanor Roosevelt. In my family this was not a topic discussed
lightly! My folks were not fans of FDR and the whole New Deal era. So I didn’t
have much of a chance in my early years to become acquainted with what the
nation faced during the time of FDR’s administration. As his story unfolded in
much detail through the Great Depression and the beginnings of the Second World
War, it became clear that history was telling us of a true American Saga.
As my friend related it to me, the hard work of those years
fell to everyone. Farmers and businessmen. Shop keepers and assembly line
workers. So too were ‘jobs’ hard for the unemployed, the disenfranchised, and
the homeless. Times were much harder than they are today. Politicians scrambled
and argued over the spoils while vast numbers of people suffered. Then came FDR
and the behemoth of government began to turn effectively toward the needs of
the nation in ways it had never done before. Because it had to?
At FDR’s side was his wife Eleanor, a feisty individualist
in her own right, educated and smart as
a whip. She was the eyes and ears that served FDR well in those tough times.
And she went out about the countryside and talked with people, interacted with
them and learned their story. She inspired them to be prideful in their
station, and to help one another. And slowly she wove a fabric of ‘can do’ into
the American spirit, just when it needed it the most.
She gave the caring and loving front to the nation when and
where her husband could not. And the duo worked magic in the land.
Some will argue that big government was birthed in those
years. But I would counter with this observation: national government at that
time demonstrated its ability to marshal a nation’s will and vision of the
future into a formidable power that tamed evil in the world. The depression was
slain. So too were Hitler and Japan .
And the world was brought to a point of peace to lick its wounds and rebuild.
Rebuild to a better model that captured the spirits of many
nations. And the United Nations emerged as a powerful force for good, so too
international cooperation and education, and intra border understanding.
Compare that with where we are today! We could use a peaceful
visit to those times of rebuilding. Then we were hopeful for the future because
we had been through hell. We had been through doubt and fear. But together we
had survived it all and prospered to make 70 years of magical happenings. We
did it then. Do we really need to re-experience a depression to learn how to
cooperate with one another again? Do we need a world war to educate us on how
to collaborate with other nations to maintain the peace?
Eleanor Roosevelt helped restore a nation’s sense of itself
at just the right moment in history. What would she say about Columbine High School ,
Or Virginia Tech, or Aurora ,
Colorado
I do know she said this once: “Do what you feel in your heart
to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
That is a message worth reading several times over. With
persistence. With calm acceptance of your own logic from deep within.
A wise man once said, probably a Chinese Wise Man: “In
the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins. Not
through strength, but through persistence.”
May we find some of that in the days ahead and couple it
with the courage of Eleanor Roosevelt. I do believe our best days are ahead of
us. Together we can make that statement come true. Will you lend your hand to
this dream?
July 23, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment