Brief Comments on Treachery at Sharpnose Point

I have finished reading “Treachery at Sharpnose Point” by Jeremy Seal. It is an interesting look at Cornwall and the wreck of the Caledonia in 1843, as well as his current day research and retracing of the places involved. It is quite well-written and enjoyable. I read several books in the gap between my hand-held journal and this electronic one, a couple of mysteries, a couple of histories and some historical fiction, which is my current favorite.

Of course I should say a word about TR on the Bully Pulpit...

Theodore Roosevelt is the greatest president of the United States in the 20th century, because his interpretation of the powers and role of the president set a precedent that afforded all of his 20th century successors a platform on which to build.
A man of many contradictions, he was also perhaps the brightest man to hold the office. TR had a breadth of personal experience that gave him the ability to speak the language of the nation. A northerner, his mothers family was from the south. A northeasterner and Ivy Leaguer, he was also truly a Plainsman and Westerner. A naturalist, he was also a sportsman and hunter. He read a book or more each evening and boxed or wrestled, walked, rode or lifted weights daily - even as President. He drummed up a war when he thought America needed one, and then stopped another, winning the Noble Peace Prize. He advocated government regulation of business in the public interest, and was the first to truly implement the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to control monopolies he felt were acting against the public good. He encouraged organized labor and advocated the six-day workweek when the norm was seven. He championed and passed the Pure Food Act, the first of it's kind, seeking to improve public health. He advocated workman's' compensation and fought the party bosses. He insisted that the military be improved and strengthened, insisted on the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine. He created the vast majority of our nation's protected lands - National Parks, and when Congress acted to restrict his ability to create national park lands, through National Monuments and National Wildlife Refuges.

He embodied a boldness and self-confidence that motivated a nation to rise to greatness at the dawn of what is being called the American Century. He forged a strong Presidency and created a belief in America as a great power at home and abroad. He began policies that would later be expanded by Republicans (foreign policy, the Panama Canal, military preparedness) and by Democrats (social programs, government regulation in the public interest) - especially by the cousin who sought his blessing to run for his first public office: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Theodore Roosevelt was a self-made man who was robust, but had painstakingly built his body from illness. He was a scholar, Sunday school teacher, policeman, author of over thirty books and many articles and reviews, naturalist, tireless campaigner, reformer, nationalist, explorer (the Theodoro river, a tributary of the Amazon), soldier, moralist and romantic. His comfort in the Presidency and his confidence inspired the fledgling nation. In his own words, he told us that no man ever enjoyed the office more.

The legacy of the twentieth century in America begins with the man and the accomplishments of the man as the twenty-sixth President, Theodore Roosevelt.

Father's Day and Everyday

I value my own father in so many ways.

There should indeed be a day to honor and remember our fathers. Probably should have one every day.

But gosh, in an era of sensitivity isn't it sexist to have a day just for the fathers who happen to be men? Shouldn't it be parents' day or something? Okay, so I'm being sarcastic. One of the things that we discarded like old shoes in the sixties was the idea of traditional roles. I'm not saying that's all bad - we were due for some updating. But what is a father now? Who do we think of as a great father? Is he your pal, or an example, or someone to spend weekends with? Is there an ideal today that fathers strive for?

In my own case, I was lucky enough to have a father that was supportive, yet not to be disappointed. He was proud, but told us when we were out of line. I don't remember a time when I didn't know that he was on my side. Much of the best in me was inspired and brought out by my dad.

Part of the difficulty with today is that it has become so difficult to be a father. Some dads and their kids just don't connect. Some fathers abuse their role. Some don't get to see their kids much. Some choose not to. Some fathers are grand. But all of us want a dad in some way akin to the old time ideal father - strong, firm in his beliefs, supportive, proud of us, tough, demanding - a reassurance throughout our lives.

Sometimes things become trite because they're true. The ideal of Father may have become trite, but is it at least partially because for the most part it represents the Dad so many of us respond to? A timeless role, Father, and one of probably the two most important jobs in the world.

Thanks, Dad.

Memorial Day Thought

Memorial Day Thought

This year, I hope that all of us pause and remember the family members past and present who have protected us all and our way of life down through the years, and who believed that freedom is so precious it is worth the price of our lives to preserve it.

Throughout our history, we have been blessed by the courage and commitment of Americans who were willing to pay that price, and more than 1.3 million of them have died for our Nation.

Even in our own family, it surprising just how many have given this last full measure to preserve our freedom. On Memorial Day we remember them, and we acknowledge that we stand as a great, proud, and free Nation because of their devotion.

In creating Memorial Day the Congress intended that the Nation unite in a moment of prayer for peace. I think that General George Patton (known to pray daily) may have given us a theme for this prayer:

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

Who is Driving This Bus?

Did anyone see the poll published this week by Zogby America that indicates that between 26% and 40% of Americans believe that their future is determined by their own actions. Isn't this a surprising number of people? I mean, are 26-40% of people killed by tornadoes? Isn't it sort of a sign of the times that so many of us believe that life just happens to us?

It is a sad statistic too, because I can't imagine that very many of us who do not believe that we control most of our own life's outcomes will actually be successful to any degree. Interestingly, the lower one's income, the more likely one is to feel that someone or something else controls one's life (40.3%). Is that a cause, or an effect? Isn't that the fundamental question between the government interventionist and the libertarian?

Busier than Ever?

Busier than Ever?

In 1900, the average worker had to work six and a half days a week, often for twelve hours a day. Today we are also extremely busy, but much less of our time is based on subsistence activities. Today, we have organized leisure, our kids have organized play, we have both parents working full time in many cases. And almost all of us complain about how busy we are. Most people thought it was a boon when President Theodore Roosevelt pushed through a bill limiting the work week to six days. Most people in the 50's thought that technology would give us more time for leisure. And yet, at the dawn of the 21st century we feel busier than ever. Why is that? And how much of our 'busyness' is subsistence oriented? It seems to me that we all work harder for more stuff, and simultaneously feel surprise at how busy we are. Seems also that we could be a lot less busy, and have a lot more time at our disposal if we choose to make it so. And yes, this is a rumination for me, too...

What we tell ourselves

There is a fine line, I think, between Norman Vincent Peale, Pollyanna, Eor and Poe. We know a lot about the impact our thoughts and feelings have on our perceptions, thoughts, health and spirit. The fine line exists between choosing to be positive (or negative) but rooted in reality, and choosing to be positive (or negative) and rewriting events to make them fit our 'positive' or 'negative' outlook. Clint Black has a song that says 'We tell ourselves that what we found was what we meant to find'. Understanding the nuances of circumstances, evaluating the real impact to our life, finding ways to focus our efforts and attention on good feelings and outcomes--these are all choices to be positive and keep perspective and as much control as is available to us. Fabricating a myth to accompany events - even when it is designed to make us feel better - usually ends up making us feel less engaged, less confident, less sincere, less realistic and ultimately fails to bring us the happiness that leads us to choose fabrication (or amplification) as a strategy.

If you look in the news section you will see an article from the British Medical Journal discussing post traumatic stress syndrome and long term psychological illness. The study seems to show that context, culture and expectation bear more heavily on whether people subjected to extreme and often violent stress later develop mental illness.

The point is, that if we are waiting to be insulted, we probably will. If we are looking at life from the point of view of the victim, we will probably become victims. If we focus on the traumas that affect us, we will probably be traumatized. We have all known people who faced great challenges and endured, sometimes even defeated them. When I think about the ones I know, it seems to me that they acknowledged reality, accepted it, then found a way to make the best of it. They didn't rewrite it to suit, so they didn't have to try to integrate unreality into their lives.

"No Problem"

Does anyone remember when 'please' was answered with phrases like 'you are welcome', or 'it is my pleasure'? Today, the courtesy of thanking, say, a waiter as he or she delivers food to one's table is often answered 'no problem'. I must say, that it is a very lucky thing indeed that it is 'no problem' for a food server to serve food. Imagine what would happen to a restaurant if it suddenly became a problem for food servers to serve food. And what is the tip jar at Starbuck's for? Not spilling coffee on me? I understand tipping the person who hauls my heavy bags up to a room, or who brings a salad, main course, beverages, etc to my table. I understand when my hotel room has been well maintained during a visit, or when I have left a mess for the housekeeping staff. But why am I expected to tip counter people where I do all the walking (order and pay here, pick up there, add cream or get a napkin there)? In fact, I sometimes find myself wiping off the counter where the cream and sugar are housed - instinctive action I guess. Should I be tipped? Oh, and I even understand tipping cab drivers - it is an incentive to them to make sure that I arrive at my destination alive. One dry cleaner told me that broken buttons as a result of laundering or ironing were not repaired. He seemed puzzled by my suggestion that the larger purpose - abjectly defeated by missing and broken buttons - of having shirts cleaned and pressed was in fact to make them more presentable. I have a new cleaner, but am waiting for the day when a tip jar appears there.

Thank you for your service

This slide show is very powerful. It is all too easy to think of what others do in terms of what we do. I eat regularly, and what I want. I shower in hot water and when it is hot I turn on the air conditioning. When someone cuts me off in traffic I'm mad because I don't want to be endangered. If someone needs help, I help if it isn't too much trouble or cost. These people eat what they get, when they get it. They sweat when it is hot. They'd love a time when the worst danger they faced was traffic like ours rather than IEDs. They train and fight, patrol and work every day in danger. Any mistake can mean injury or death for them or others, and many will have their mistakes published in the NY Times. How would I like that? They are the people who volunteered to go in harm's way, to protect me. To ensure my freedom. Now, with few exceptions, war will always be a controversial decision by leaders. Why are we fighting, what is the goal, how much will it cost, how many will perish? Those decisions and evaluations are made at higher pay grades than most of those who serve. But our servicemen and women go when told. They know that the leadership might be wrong, that a general or civilian might make an error. They know that politicians might change their minds about the fight. They know all these things but they go. And they go because it is their job. They go because they believe that the tradition of the armed forces is honorable and meaningful. They go because they are willing to do all that they can to honor those traditions. They go because whatever the ultimate historical evaluation of the policy that sent them to a particular war or battle, America needs them, and they have answered that call. They are ordinary people from all walks of life, but they are extraordinary people as well. They fight for their country, their family, their community, the American way of life. And I am grateful for them, and for all of the previous links in the long and unbroken chain of brave Americans, from the very birth of our nation forward. One of my ancestors served for years in the Continental Army, another in Vietnam. Though the ways, the nation, our beliefs and reasons for war - even our views of each battle and each war have changed over time, our servicemen and women answer the call in all seasons. And we are all, each of us, in their debt. I've made an effort in the last ten years or so to just make eye contact and nod, or if there is time an opportunity, to say 'thank you for your service', when I see men and women in uniform. I know it means something to them, and it costs me nothing. I hope that whatever people think of any particular battle or war, we remember these brave men and women who stand a post, saying no one will hurt you tonight. They serve and fight where they are sent, and they honor us with their service. Let's make them proud of the people they serve.

To see the slide show, please follow the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ervaMPt4Ha0