Truly an inspiring moment in the history of our country. Thank you for sharing the story of Washington’s resignation. It was part of his legacy as a great leader that I did not know, but am very happy to have now. Hoping you & Buddy are safe and warm.
Truly an inspiring moment in the history of our country. Thank you for sharing the story of Washington’s resignation. It was part of his legacy as a great leader that I did not know, but am very happy to have now. Hoping you & Buddy are safe and warm.
I did not know about Washington's resigning of his commission either and the principle it set. The House will be a dumpster fire the next two years and I hope that somehow their destruction can limited. The final words of the chairman of the January 6th committee chairman are inspiring. A peaceful joyous holiday season to the good professor and Buddy and all who post here. With gratitude.
Michele, yet it also seems possible that it may gradually lead to some actual bipartisan negotiations and actual productive legislation for the first time in several decades, witness the passage of the omnibus spending bill!
You may wish to inform yourself of Washington's treatment of Indigenous Persons of this continent and his foot soldiers. His whole history does not reveal a hero.
You know, I took Heather’s post to be less about the “whole man and every decision he made” than about a particular, unique choice that a white-propertied-man-of-European-decent-in-a-powerful-position made, that set in motion a proud, inspiring legacy we enjoyed until Jan. 6, 2021. All our leaders have baggage. Washington’s action in that moment (as captured thematically by Trumbull) seems to accept - and embody- the humility, that leadership now had a new ideal to live up to.
Rarely is a person “heroic” in all their lifetime actions…perhaps only on a few notable occasions. People are of their time/class/culture and we, in modern times, may take umbrage at some of the views they held & actions they took. I wonder what some historical figures, lauded and flawed, would be if they’d been of “this time”….an interesting thought experiment we cannot know the answer to.
I believe that President Biden will be seen as a hero of this time in the future. What he is accomplishing amid the shelling of the extremists is jaw dropping.
100%. And the shakiness of the Democratic coalition in Congress makes it even more remarkable. Nancy Pelosi is right up there too. From time to time I wonder what the celebrated legislative leaders of the past could have accomplished under these conditions.
In addition, it often seems that we are more adept at finding fault with those long dead than with directing a critical eye to our own allies and (heaven forbid) ourselves. I'm confident that our descendants a couple of centuries hence will see all our flaws with a clarity that we don't -- assuming of course that humanity has managed to hang on that long.
Perhaps Washington’s experiences as a wartime leader led him to a deeper understanding of the values his men sacrificed their lives for. To be free of tyranny. Unlike most current Republicans, he may have seen the potential irony of becoming that which he waged war against and declined the temptation. If so, Washington’s action illustrates a beautiful moral arc, bending toward justice.
That was actually an active issue during his presidency: he had to mediate between two members of his cabinet, Jefferson at State and Hamilton at the Treasury, who had very different ideas of what direction the new country should take. Much simplified version: Hamilton favored a strong national structure (they weren't called Federalists for nothing!), and Jefferson wanted the states to have more power. And of course the centralizers were accused of being monarchists! But at the same time the Articles of Confederation had shown at least the clear thinkers that not much could be accomplished if the individual states had too much autonomy -- and the European powers were more than ready to capitalize on squabbling among the 13 states. (At least until the French Revolution took a violent turn and Europe had more immediate problems to deal with.)
But that state >< federal tension has never gone away. It blew up in the Civil War of course, but it's still very much with us: witness, among other things, the red-state resistance to COVID protocols, the "independent state legislature theory" currently before SCOTUS, and the Confederate battle flags carried into the Capitol on 1/6.
Maureen I think you are precisely accurate in your surmise about Washington learning something during his prosecution of the war; he learned an entirely new set of tactics after the British whupped him and his troops in several early encounters. He also learned about the vagaries of gaining the political and financial support necessary to prosecute a war. There can be no question that Washington learned A LOT about leadership in his time as Leader in Chief.
Great persons must inevitably learn much in their progression into our consciousness of their greatness! I would include both Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky (and Churchill, Eisenhower, Kennedy, etc) in that description.
The Founders, to varying degrees, were not the saints I was sold in public school, but their constitution has been a beneficial anchor for democracy overall, even though it's egalitarian intent was incomplete from the getgo; and it's guidance can certainly be perverted to this day.
The Framers graciously surrendered their quills by including an amendment process that accepted the growth that occurs when perspective and times change. So called "originalists" ostensibly fight to keep the document a frozen fossil, but I think that the framers, without knowing (or perhaps daring to admit) exactly what that might look like, saw "beyond the years", and allowed for this.
It's not the framers frame of mind that is sacred, it is the principle of liberty and justice that they incorporated. What the Founders bequeathed to us that remains a gift to this is day, was to refrain from establishing their own new KING, same as the old KING. And yet that decision remains controversial to this day.
"That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings." - Lincoln
Zella, YES! “His resignation, walking away from power, stands in stark contrast to the attempted coup by the twice impeached single term former president.”
Truly an inspiring moment in the history of our country. Thank you for sharing the story of Washington’s resignation. It was part of his legacy as a great leader that I did not know, but am very happy to have now. Hoping you & Buddy are safe and warm.
Good Professor,
Have a wonderful holiday season. You made confusion not so confusing this past year. Thank you.
I did not know about Washington's resigning of his commission either and the principle it set. The House will be a dumpster fire the next two years and I hope that somehow their destruction can limited. The final words of the chairman of the January 6th committee chairman are inspiring. A peaceful joyous holiday season to the good professor and Buddy and all who post here. With gratitude.
I think it be amazing if the goons only set the dumpster on fire.
Actually I usually say something different, but decided to keep it more civil. In the hopes that they don't burn down everything.
Michele, yet it also seems possible that it may gradually lead to some actual bipartisan negotiations and actual productive legislation for the first time in several decades, witness the passage of the omnibus spending bill!
I hope this happens since they have such a slim majority.
You may wish to inform yourself of Washington's treatment of Indigenous Persons of this continent and his foot soldiers. His whole history does not reveal a hero.
You know, I took Heather’s post to be less about the “whole man and every decision he made” than about a particular, unique choice that a white-propertied-man-of-European-decent-in-a-powerful-position made, that set in motion a proud, inspiring legacy we enjoyed until Jan. 6, 2021. All our leaders have baggage. Washington’s action in that moment (as captured thematically by Trumbull) seems to accept - and embody- the humility, that leadership now had a new ideal to live up to.
Rarely is a person “heroic” in all their lifetime actions…perhaps only on a few notable occasions. People are of their time/class/culture and we, in modern times, may take umbrage at some of the views they held & actions they took. I wonder what some historical figures, lauded and flawed, would be if they’d been of “this time”….an interesting thought experiment we cannot know the answer to.
I believe that President Biden will be seen as a hero of this time in the future. What he is accomplishing amid the shelling of the extremists is jaw dropping.
Gailee, completely agree. Biden is clearly a hero now and history will be kind to his (imperfect) but incredible legacy.
100%. And the shakiness of the Democratic coalition in Congress makes it even more remarkable. Nancy Pelosi is right up there too. From time to time I wonder what the celebrated legislative leaders of the past could have accomplished under these conditions.
In addition, it often seems that we are more adept at finding fault with those long dead than with directing a critical eye to our own allies and (heaven forbid) ourselves. I'm confident that our descendants a couple of centuries hence will see all our flaws with a clarity that we don't -- assuming of course that humanity has managed to hang on that long.
Perhaps Washington’s experiences as a wartime leader led him to a deeper understanding of the values his men sacrificed their lives for. To be free of tyranny. Unlike most current Republicans, he may have seen the potential irony of becoming that which he waged war against and declined the temptation. If so, Washington’s action illustrates a beautiful moral arc, bending toward justice.
That was actually an active issue during his presidency: he had to mediate between two members of his cabinet, Jefferson at State and Hamilton at the Treasury, who had very different ideas of what direction the new country should take. Much simplified version: Hamilton favored a strong national structure (they weren't called Federalists for nothing!), and Jefferson wanted the states to have more power. And of course the centralizers were accused of being monarchists! But at the same time the Articles of Confederation had shown at least the clear thinkers that not much could be accomplished if the individual states had too much autonomy -- and the European powers were more than ready to capitalize on squabbling among the 13 states. (At least until the French Revolution took a violent turn and Europe had more immediate problems to deal with.)
But that state >< federal tension has never gone away. It blew up in the Civil War of course, but it's still very much with us: witness, among other things, the red-state resistance to COVID protocols, the "independent state legislature theory" currently before SCOTUS, and the Confederate battle flags carried into the Capitol on 1/6.
Maureen I think you are precisely accurate in your surmise about Washington learning something during his prosecution of the war; he learned an entirely new set of tactics after the British whupped him and his troops in several early encounters. He also learned about the vagaries of gaining the political and financial support necessary to prosecute a war. There can be no question that Washington learned A LOT about leadership in his time as Leader in Chief.
Great persons must inevitably learn much in their progression into our consciousness of their greatness! I would include both Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky (and Churchill, Eisenhower, Kennedy, etc) in that description.
Right on, Barbara. Being “of this time”is different than the past because we have made PROGRESS—something most Republicans are opposed to.
Are all heroes perfect by todays stands, well, hell no. Who said they were….
In a sense, Washington's voluntary relinquishment of power is what made our Revolution revolutionary.
The Founders, to varying degrees, were not the saints I was sold in public school, but their constitution has been a beneficial anchor for democracy overall, even though it's egalitarian intent was incomplete from the getgo; and it's guidance can certainly be perverted to this day.
The Framers graciously surrendered their quills by including an amendment process that accepted the growth that occurs when perspective and times change. So called "originalists" ostensibly fight to keep the document a frozen fossil, but I think that the framers, without knowing (or perhaps daring to admit) exactly what that might look like, saw "beyond the years", and allowed for this.
It's not the framers frame of mind that is sacred, it is the principle of liberty and justice that they incorporated. What the Founders bequeathed to us that remains a gift to this is day, was to refrain from establishing their own new KING, same as the old KING. And yet that decision remains controversial to this day.
"That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles -- right and wrong -- throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity and the other the divine right of kings." - Lincoln
Zella, YES! “His resignation, walking away from power, stands in stark contrast to the attempted coup by the twice impeached single term former president.”
^^^^THIS!^^^^