Which really is too bad. For the role of president is worth our attention. I've been focusing on it over the last couple of years with what I call my Presidential Project. I am reading a biography of each of our presidents--roughly one per month. As I've mentioned in this blog before, some have proven a real chore to get through, and others have been a great joy. I'm reading about Andrew Johnson at the moment, and learning many things I never knew about this slave holding Unionist. He was, for instance, the only Senator from the South who continued to serve in his seat after his state had seceded. He really was a very complicated guy. (Being from Maine I've always held a grudge against him as he pre-empted Hannibal Hamlin, the only Vice President from the Pine Tree State! I'll have to reconsider my position!)
I undertook this project to learn more about our presidents, but also to have a fresh look at our history as a nation. Both objectives are being accomplished! But I'm also discovering a lot America here and now. It's clichéd to say we are a product of our history, but it is also true. And so many of the basic issues over the years have remained the same. Our Constitution, for instance, carefully balances the rights of individual states against the power of the federal government. It proves to be an ongoing balancing act. And it also is at the core of many if not even most of our debates as a nation! And various presidents were elected based on their position on that very issue!
Presidents are not kings (or maybe one day soon, not queens)--and that is by design. But they are key figures in our national life. And I am convinced that they are merely a reflection of who we are as a people. We not only get the leaders we deserve, we also get the leaders we create.
No comments:
Post a Comment