TR speaks to us...

[trombair]

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life."
--Theodore Roosevelt

 

[Ghery]

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life."
--Theodore Roosevelt

He'd never get elected today. Too bad.

 

[alaskaflyer]

Hmmm...one of my favorite Presidents.

-To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

-We wish to control big business so as to secure among other things good wages for the wage-workers and reasonable prices for the consumers. Wherever in any business the prosperity of the businessman is obtained by lowering the wages of his workmen and charging an excessive price to the consumers we wish to interfere and stop such practices. We will not submit to that kind of prosperity any more than we will submit to prosperity obtained by swindling investors or getting unfair advantages over business rivals.

-When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.' D )

-Finally, it would be a masterstroke if those great powers honestly bent on peace would form a League of Peace, not only to keep the peace among themselves, but to prevent, by force if necessary, its being broken by others. The supreme difficulty in connection with developing the peace work of The Hague arises from the lack of any executive power, of any police power to enforce the decrees of the court.

-Friends, I will disown and repudiate any man of my party who attacks with such foul slander and abuse any opponent of any other party.

But then he had his foibles...

-"A perfectly stupid race can never rise to a very high place. The Negro, for instance, has been kept down as much by his lack of intellectual development as by anything else."

 

[poadeleted1]

But then he had his foibles...

-"A perfectly stupid race can never rise to a very high place. The Negro, for instance, has been kept down as much by his lack of intellectual development as by anything else."

But at that point, in all seriousness "Negroes" had not been allowed, for the most part to get a formal education and opportunities were not exactly abundant at management and executive levels.

TR, I think, in this statement was a victim of circumstance. Things today are much different, would you not agree? And TR, being a wise and outspoken man would, in my opinion, be the first to rescind that comment.

 

[Frank Browne]

-To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

Criticism is not a bad thing but, a lot of what is being spoken about the current administration simple isn't true. As much as some would like it to be. As for the rest, no general disagreement.

 

[Frank Browne]

But at that point, in all seriousness "Negroes" had not been allowed, for the most part to get a formal education and opportunities were not exactly abundant at management and executive levels.

TR, I think, in this statement was a victim of circumstance. Things today are much different, would you not agree? And TR, being a wise and outspoken man would, in my opinion, be the first to rescind that comment.

Good point, and I think you're right...he would.

 

[alaskaflyer]

But at that point, in all seriousness "Negroes" had not been allowed, for the most part to get a formal education and opportunities were not exactly abundant at management and executive levels.

TR, I think, in this statement was a victim of circumstance. Things today are much different, would you not agree? And TR, being a wise and outspoken man would, in my opinion, be the first to rescind that comment.

He was both a product, and an anomaly, of his time for sure.

 

[alaskaflyer]

And like Ghery said, he would never get elected today, unfortunately. Today you must always be "on message" or risk political disembowelment from your own party.

 

[Pjsmith]

But at that point, in all seriousness "Negroes" had not been allowed, for the most part to get a formal education and opportunities were not exactly abundant at management and executive levels.

TR, I think, in this statement was a victim of circumstance. Things today are much different, would you not agree? And TR, being a wise and outspoken man would, in my opinion, be the first to rescind that comment.

I don't agree with this posit. First, Roosevelt was never a victim of circumstance. As our first 'modern' executive, he fairly well revolutionized every facet of the political landscape, and he did so by commanding circumstance to conform to his wishes. He certainly was enlightened enough to make the first federal appointments of African Americans (and, for a time, supported those moves), and unashamedly dined with Booker T. at the white house (a truly bold move in those days).

TR was a great man, and did great things. But he was human and had his shortcomings, and I don't think it's right to give him a pass based on circumstance. He was perhaps one of the best educated men of his day, often reading volumes of historic works in one of the double handfuls of languages he was proficient in. Surely he could not have escaped the historical signifigance of the african continent, and yet he formed his opinions of the race based on then-contemporary sentiment. Understandable as a political manuever, though academically a bit too questionable a move for a man of his intellect.

History will judge us all harshly, but hopefully by a common yardstick.

 

[poadeleted1]

In saying circumstance, I meant, more accurately, his time. Things, thoughts and processes that were acceptable even 20 years ago are sometimes frowned upon quite harshly.

He said what he said, and all we can do is guess what he meant to say or what he meant in his heart.