'A set of lies agreed upon'
That's how Napoleon defined 'history' - and I guess he should've known!
But for whatever reason I'm into history at the moment. I've got two historical books on the go at the moment. One is taking me through the centuries of British history while the other, undoubtedly influenced by my prediliction for The West Wing, examines the 43 presidents 'who have shaped and led the most powerful nation on Earth.'
While the authors confess to a tendency towards the positive it does seem that the US has had it's fair share of good men, and men who say good things. I'm not sure which category Dwight D. Eisenhower (the 34th President) would find himslef, but here's something he said back in 1953:'Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies... a theft from those who hunger and are not fed.'
I would've voted for him! I still would.
As Eisenhower predecessor (Mr Truman) once pointed out 'men and women make history and not the other way around'. I don't just want to read about it, I want to be a 'history-maker'.
Labels: Books
posted by nick at 8:35 AM
4 Comments:
thanks for getting the ball rolling with the Chikankata challenge. have you started with the whole house-husband stuff?
i don't suppose you've got access to series five of the West Wing?
4:03 AM
"Men make their own history, but they do not know that they are making it."
Nick
You are already making history. You are part of my childrens history.....you gave to them at sports camp......they will remember that. You will be part of many peoples history.
I am dipping in and out of a British history as well. In the foreword there is a quote that says
"The history of the world is the history of the privileged few" (sorry can't credit because I forgot to write it down).
I think it should say 'the written history of the word' because ordinary history is made by ordinary people generally doing fairly ordinary things to other ordinary people.
Liked the Eisenhower quote.....hoped he did something about it.....as they say actions speak etc
The only thing that jogged in my memory about him from deep in the recesses of my A level history was that he didn't stand up to McCarthy. Don't know if I remembered correctly.
2:31 AM
I didn't know Einsenhower even KNEW the Beatles! ;-)
9:08 AM
Hey Nick
Strangely enough, I've been writing about Eisenhower in my thesis recently and I can happily inform you that he did indeed do a great deal to correct the imbalance between military spending and domestic needs.
Surprisingly, although he was a former general, Eisenhower was much less gung-ho about the Cold War than other presidents. (I think his experience had made him more aware than most of the vainglorious realities of war.) Consequently, he sought to avoid a conflict with the Soviets by increasingly America's reliance upon the (never intended to be used) nuclear deterrent, and reducing spending on conventional weapons. Although his administration's strategy of massive retaliation (ie. 'step over the line and we'll nuke you') may seem overly warlike, it succesfully allowed the US to shrink its army and fund the reconconstruction of both the US and Europe via the Marshall Plan. He was also one of the few American presidents to chastise Israel for its aggressive foreign policy...
Interesting, although his parents were JWs, Eisenhower died a staunch Presbyterian.
2:07 AM
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