Posted on 11/09/2010 4:41:24 AM PST by EternalVigilance
On NOVEMBER 9, 1954, President Eisenhower addressed the National
Conference on the Spiritual Foundation of American Democracy at the
Sheraton-Carlton Hotel, Washington D.C.:
"Now Dr. Lowry said something about my having certain convictions as
to a God in Heaven and an Almighty power.
Well, I don't think anyone needs a great deal of credit for believing
in what seems to me to be obvious...
This relationship between a spiritual faith...and our form of
government is...so obvious that we should really not need to identify
a man as unusual because he recognizes it."
"Our whole theory of government finally expressed in our
Declaration...said...Man is endowed by his Creator...
When you come back to it, there is just one thing...man is worthwhile
because he was born in the image of his God...
Democracy is nothing in the world but a spiritual conviction...that
each of us is enormously valuable, because of a certain standing
before our own God."
"Any group that...awakens all of us to these simple things...is, in
my mind, a dedicated, patriotic group that can well take the Bible in
one hand and the flag in the other, and march ahead."
Any FReepers alive during Dwight’s reign who can speak to the man as a person? I’ve not read much disparaging stuff about him, but he seems to be one of the lesser lauded presidents of the 20th century.
Good question.
In some sense, I think he was a man of a different era, and therefore is a bit difficult to judge by our modern-day standards.
But the WWII generation venerated the man, that’s for sure.
Only 56 short years ago! It is truly hard to believe how far the nation has fallen since then.
True. But the beauty of the principles he was talking about is that we as a people can return to them right now, this minute, and they will prove to be as powerful and effective as ever.
Ike led our country during 8 difficult years
...and you’re absolutely sure about this.
Well, his comments as reported in this article show that at the least he had the proper foundation for that leadership.
And it showed.
Everything I’ve read about his leadership in WWII leads me to believe that his troops considered him to be someone who cared about each individual soldier.
Travel the back roads of Kansas. Find a old farmer, now retired, who works 80 acres just for fun. Let him reach out his large, hard hand to great you with a large handshake, and you have met Dwight Eisenhower.
I was in elementary school when he was President. Each week we read the Weekly Reader, a small newspaper for the schools. I still see his picture. Queen Elizabeth was young, and so elegant. They made us believe in people larger than life, larger than themselves. America the Beautiful.
So much has been stolen from us. It’s beyond grief.
I reach adulthood during Ike”s administration. The one memory that stands out is that of competence. Even through several scandals, Ike’s Administration was competent and self correcting. He did the people’s work without injecting his ego. He was not a populist and was honest.
Great take on things. I agree that he was not a populist. But he was eminently popular. :-) Folks just naturally liked and trusted him.
Just an aside. While Mamie and the children lived in a dust hole in Kansas, she discovered a rattler in her “yard”. She shot the snake with a .45. Like her husband, she was just doing what had to be done.
I’ve been to the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, KS a couple of times. The two things I recall were 1) that he did very poorly academically at West Point because all he cared about was football. His leadership skills grew after college, through his Army assignments and training programs he attended.
2) The little chapel where he and Mamie are buried is completely empty of reference to any faith. There are stained glass windows, but in their extreme effort to avoid favoring one religion over another, they ended up with a space that has a distinctly non-sacred feel. Makes me think Eisenhower was kind of a Deist— a believer in God’s Providence, but not too specific after that.
Personally, my favorite thing about Eisenhower is the Interstate Highway system. I think it’s important infrastructure that helps keep people free to travel whether they are rich or poor. Also, did he do the GI Bill, or was that Truman?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.