The Eternal Struggle

 

The Eternal Struggle 

In the musical 1776, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin are discussing their place in history. Adams scoffs: “I won’t appear in the history books, anyway — only you. Franklin did this, Franklin did that … Franklin smote the ground, and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod, and the three of them — Franklin, Washington, and the horse — conducted the entire Revolution all by themselves.”

History books remember Washington, Franklin, and Adams as great men but, when examined by the standards of today, they were greatly flawed. How has our nation survived despite the flaws of our leaders? Because, when our leaders have not been great, our people have.

Jon Meacham notes in The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, that Americans are ever engaged in an “eternal struggle” with a “history that’s shaped us.” We don’t like the messiness of history. We look for demigods and find men. We look for victory and find dishonor. We condemn injustices of the past while looking past the injustices of our own times. Harry Truman noted: “The next generation never learns anything from the previous one until it’s brought home with a hammer… until they get knocked on the head by experience.” 

History knocks us on the head when we forget how it shaped our nation. Citizens well-versed in history make good decisions. Making choices and taking positions without reference to the past result in very sore heads.

Quick to criticize our leaders, we forgot how they gained power. Harry Truman wrote, “The country has to awaken to the fact that the people are responsible for the government they get. And when they elect a man to the presidency who doesn’t take care of the job, they’ve got nobody to blame but themselves.” 

Quick to blame the other side, we neglect to research the issues which divide us. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “It is not only important but mentally invigorating to discuss political matters with people whose opinions differ radically from one’s own… Find out what people are saying, what they are thinking, what they believe. This is an invaluable check on one’s own ideas.” Are we willing to check our own ideas by learning what others are thinking? 

It is the responsibility of every citizen to study history in order to intelligently consider today’s issues. Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Wherever the people are well-informed they can be trusted with their own government. Whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” Harry Truman wrote, “The people have often made mistakes but given time and the facts, they will make corrections.” Are we prepared to make corrections? 

Study history. Be informed. Consider all sides. Make corrections. Choose good leaders. 

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “Great leaders we have had, but we could not have had great leaders unless they had a great people to follow. You cannot be a great leader unless the people are great.” 

Be great.