Posted on 01/02/2007 1:09:38 PM PST by STARWISE
According to an ancient tradition, God preserves humanity despite its many transgressions because at any one period there exist 10 just individuals who, without being aware of their role, redeem mankind.
Gerald Ford was such a man. Propelled into the presidency by a sequence of unpredictable events, he had an impact so profound it’s rightly to be considered providential.
Unassuming and without guile, Gerald Ford undertook to restore the confidence of Americans in their political institutions and purposes.
Never having aspired to national office, he was not consumed by driving ambition. In his understated way, he did his duty as a leader, not as a performer playing to the gallery.
Gerald Ford had the virtues of small-town America: sincerity, serenity and integrity.
(snip)
In recent days, the deserved commentary on Gerald Ford’s character has sometimes obscured how sweeping and lasting were his achievements.
Gerald Ford’s prudence and common sense kept ethnic conflicts in Cyprus and Lebanon from spiraling into regional war.
He presided over the final agony of Indochina with dignity and wisdom.
In the Middle East, his persistence produced the first political agreement between Israel and Egypt.
He helped shape the act of the Helsinki European Security Conference, which established an internationally recognized standard for human rights, now generally accepted as having hastened the collapse of the former Soviet empire.
He sparked the initiative to bring majority rule to southern Africa, a policy that was a major factor in ending colonialism there.
(snip)
Gerald Ford was one of the founders of the continuing annual economic summit among the industrial democracies.
Throughout his 29 months in office, he persisted in conducting negotiations with our principal adversary over the reduction and control of nuclear arms.
Gerald Ford was always driven by his concern for humane values.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Kissinger eulogy .. MUST READ
Thank you for the ping. I thought it was quite the best of the eulogies and the best speech Kissinger ever made.
the first time i have heard someone in my lifetime called a "lamed-vavnik" - one of the ten righteous people on earth at one time put here by God. quite something for Kissinger to say this.
Ford did for the country what a doctor must do for his patient..."First do no harm".
I consider George W. Bush that one just man who bears all the world's troubles.
He didn't actually say that he was one of the ten, because no one knows that but God. But he did say he "was such a man." And as you say, that's saying a lot.
After the deposition of an elected president by a hysterical and lying press, after the betrayal of our allies in Vietnam as we handed them over to the Communist North Vietnamese and to neighbors like Pol Pot, after a major, world-wide cultural revolution that frightened de Gaulle into hiding from student revolutionaries, after the hyenas had gathered to put Nixon on trial and crucify him for further political gain, Gerald Ford managed to save some of the refugees, stabilize a collapsing world order, turn back the domestic revolutionaries, and still keep the liking of most Americans despite the way the lying press tried to undermine him.
It was a critical moment in the history of American and the civilized world, and Gerald Ford did a splendid job of calming things down and saving what could be saved out of a wretched mess.
Then, of course, in came Jimmy Carter and undid everything Ford accomplished, leaving us such legacies as Ayatollah Khomeini, a terrorist nuclear Iran, and a flawed Israeli "peace process" that has troubled the world ever since.
you're right - Kissinger compared him to a lamed vavnik. i always thought there were 36 righteous people - not ten.
Is this a Jewish tradition? I have never heard it before but it struck me as a high compliment from Kissinger.
A not-so-subtle cut at the impeached one.
Didn't Ford remark that Henry had thin skin?
Yes, you're right. I just checked Wikipedia, of all places, and got this:
"The source is the Talmud itself, explained as follows:
"As a mystical concept, the number 36 is even more intriguing. It is said that at all times there are 36 special people in the world, and that were it not for them, all of them, if even one of them was missing, the world would come to an end. The two Hebrew letters for 36 are the lamed, which is 30, and the vav, which is six. Therefore, these 36 are referred to as the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim. This widely-held belief, this most unusual Jewish concept is based on a Talmudic statement to the effect that in every generation 36 righteous "greet the Shechinah," the Divine Presence (Tractate Sanhedrin 97b; Tractate Sukkah 45b)."
it is a Jewish tradition. it was written about compellingly in a novel by Andre Schwarz-Bart, "The Last of the Just." i've never heard Kissinger be so complimentary.
thanks - more beauty from the Talmud.
Yep. He said Henry couldn't take criticism from the press and that every time he was the subject of an MSM hit piece he would try to resign. Sounds like Henry was high maintenance.
Thank you, Star!
Thank you for your post and the explanation of Kissinger's comment. It was a wonderful eulogy as were the others. I couldn't stop crying listening to Cheney the other evening. I do have a question - Did Clinton and/or Carter ever speak? I wondered if they had been specifically excluded which I hope is the case.
BTW I was driving the other evening and heard Michael Savage making the most vile remarks about President Ford, i.e. Ford was a totally imcompetent stupid idiot. That man is absolutely revolting; he is the idiot. I would never listen to him intentionally but it would be wonderful if he could be taken off the air.
Thanks for your post; I've been away but will definitely make my contribution ASAP. Happy New Year, Nancy S
President Bush said something true and revealing about the man,"he showed mercy while others called for revenge"
Savage really has mental problems, as evidenced by his
frequent disgraceful ramblings.
I don't think BillyJeff is speaking but Ford and Carter
had an understanding that whoever went first would speak at the personal service, so that means Carter speaks tomorrow
at the funeral, and no press will be allowed.
I believe he did ... but Kissinger would probably acknowledge that as well .. LOL. Nevertheless, he understood the big picture impact of the courage of Gerald R. Ford, who unselfishly and lovingly placed good of country before any self-aggrandization.
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