Today, we have the great honor of honoring dead Presidents. Ironically, it focuses on just two of them, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. George, the owner of Mount Vernon distillery, which produced over 11,000 gallons of Whiskey each year back in the early days of our "nation" and Abraham would be appalled at the condition of things. The big money has always been on things remaining pretty much the same, but today, more than at any other time in our history, the wealthy power brokers are taking a larger slice of the pie, treasonously threatening collapse of our economy if they are not given their way and foisting their brand of terrorism on the rest of us by demonizing our teachers, the downtrodden and the educated.
Abe Lincoln was the first Republican President and he is probably spinning in his grave over what that party has become.
I propose that we celebrate the first woman president. Perhaps that will change the discourse a bit.
I have written often that we need more women making decisions in our culture. It has been proven out by experience that when women are allowed to own property and get an education that poverty is reduced, investment in quality housing and better nutrition for families flows from that wealth and education. Fewer children are born and those that are are healthier and smarter. Entire communities are enriched by the nurturing hands of our mothers and grandmothers, all that is required is to treat them with fairness and trust.
Men, on the other hand will often preach peace and arm for war, speak at length about the "free market" and simultaneously dole out corporate welfare. The more we mythologize about our leaders, the less we seem to care about solutions to problems that we confront today. The current discussion of Lincoln, and the fascination that many of us feel for him is primarily based on his rise from the ash heap of youth, through the self-made man process where he was able to educate himself and go on to greatness. Yet, our culture devalues those who dare to think for themselves and attempt to learn as much as possible, making the world just a little better than they have found it.
One of my favorite stories about "Honest Abe" was about how he helped to rescue a barge that had come up upon the lip of a dam. It was said to have been rammed up onto the structure in an attempt to make it over, but the load was heavy enough that it bottomed out on the lip of the dam. He used his intellect and moved some of the load to the part of the barge that hung over the edge, tipping it slightly forward. Water continued to push up on the bottom of the raft, and once the barge was tilted just so, he drilled a hole through the bottom, above the dam. Water gushed in through the hole, flooding the foredeck and eventually it teetered over the obstacle. once on the downstream side of the dam, he shoved a cork in the hole and it continued to float downriver requiring just a bit of baling to make the rest of the journey.
The insight required to observe a "problem" just a little bit differently and Abraham Lincoln's ability to impress others with his wisdom was as much a function of stature as it was breeding. I think we too often forget that there were millions of chances to solve problems with intellect that were passed over in favor of wealth, expediency, or just good old oppression of native people or the womenfolk, back in history, and just as often it continues to happen now, we allow rich and powerful people, most often males, determine what we do, how we do it and when. If there has ever been a time for making sound choices about what to do and when, it is now. we must realize that our Presidents have not been folk heroes, they have been people just like us, and that we have trusted them to make the best decisions they could. Simultaneously, we need to realize that whatever they wanted to accomplish, they were limited by wealthy and powerful interests who wanted to preserve the status quo.
Perhaps what we should be celebrating is not so much the men who were our leaders, but their ability to stand on their principles, regardless of what wealthy interests wanted them to do. If they had been any less committed to the country we have inherited, the grand experiment would have surely failed by now.
Abe Lincoln was the first Republican President and he is probably spinning in his grave over what that party has become.
I propose that we celebrate the first woman president. Perhaps that will change the discourse a bit.
I have written often that we need more women making decisions in our culture. It has been proven out by experience that when women are allowed to own property and get an education that poverty is reduced, investment in quality housing and better nutrition for families flows from that wealth and education. Fewer children are born and those that are are healthier and smarter. Entire communities are enriched by the nurturing hands of our mothers and grandmothers, all that is required is to treat them with fairness and trust.
Men, on the other hand will often preach peace and arm for war, speak at length about the "free market" and simultaneously dole out corporate welfare. The more we mythologize about our leaders, the less we seem to care about solutions to problems that we confront today. The current discussion of Lincoln, and the fascination that many of us feel for him is primarily based on his rise from the ash heap of youth, through the self-made man process where he was able to educate himself and go on to greatness. Yet, our culture devalues those who dare to think for themselves and attempt to learn as much as possible, making the world just a little better than they have found it.
One of my favorite stories about "Honest Abe" was about how he helped to rescue a barge that had come up upon the lip of a dam. It was said to have been rammed up onto the structure in an attempt to make it over, but the load was heavy enough that it bottomed out on the lip of the dam. He used his intellect and moved some of the load to the part of the barge that hung over the edge, tipping it slightly forward. Water continued to push up on the bottom of the raft, and once the barge was tilted just so, he drilled a hole through the bottom, above the dam. Water gushed in through the hole, flooding the foredeck and eventually it teetered over the obstacle. once on the downstream side of the dam, he shoved a cork in the hole and it continued to float downriver requiring just a bit of baling to make the rest of the journey.
The insight required to observe a "problem" just a little bit differently and Abraham Lincoln's ability to impress others with his wisdom was as much a function of stature as it was breeding. I think we too often forget that there were millions of chances to solve problems with intellect that were passed over in favor of wealth, expediency, or just good old oppression of native people or the womenfolk, back in history, and just as often it continues to happen now, we allow rich and powerful people, most often males, determine what we do, how we do it and when. If there has ever been a time for making sound choices about what to do and when, it is now. we must realize that our Presidents have not been folk heroes, they have been people just like us, and that we have trusted them to make the best decisions they could. Simultaneously, we need to realize that whatever they wanted to accomplish, they were limited by wealthy and powerful interests who wanted to preserve the status quo.
Perhaps what we should be celebrating is not so much the men who were our leaders, but their ability to stand on their principles, regardless of what wealthy interests wanted them to do. If they had been any less committed to the country we have inherited, the grand experiment would have surely failed by now.
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