Poverty

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

/ bigdiff / 3 Comments

“We have faith that future generations will know here, in the middle of the twentieth century,
there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce,
and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.”

FDR in 1943

Wander through the FDR memorial amid the waterfalls and trees, reading his words and reflecting on his extraordinary life, and feel the impact his leadership had upon the world. He struggled against being defined by polio, against the Great Depression, to bring a new deal to Americans, through WWII and for peace, until his wife Eleanor took up his torch at the UN. In speaking plainly with people FDR became the lightning rod that harnessed the energy of everyone’s dashed dreams and fearful hopes to make the world better. The desperation of the times brought Americans “a rendezvous with destiny” and required more of FDR than any other President: putting 1/4 of the country back to work, creating a new social contract with a safety net, becoming “the great arsenal of Democracy”, and fighting for a dream of world peace.

“Unless the peace that follows recognizes that the whole world is one neighborhood
and does justice to the whole human race,
the germs of another world war will remain as a constant threat to mankind.”

FDR in 1943

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

/ bigdiff / 4 Comments

Above the fireplace mantle in the sitting room where LBJ’s mother used to entertain guests is this rather macabre image of a skull. Only after the ranger told me that it was an optical illusion, could I see the image of a young woman looking at her reflection in her dresser mirror. The lesson for Lyndon was to look deeper and try to see things differently. His father was a state representative and taught him the art of politics. His wife, Ladybird, financed his campaign, and under tragic circumstances he becomes President.

The park film on LBJ’s legacy is a bit old but excellent, with recordings from Ladybird Johnson, Vernon Jordan and others. It’s difficult to imagine a time when a Democratic President could win in a landslide on a campaign based on Civil Rights and government spending to alleviate poverty. It also seems strange now to think that his downfall would be being too hawkish militarily in Vietnam. How much the country has changed since then. I wonder what would have been his legacy if LBJ had looked at things differently and decided to abandon the war instead of escalate. Perhaps he would not have withdrawn his candidacy and could have continued his ‘great society’ initiatives.