History

[H2O Man]

One of the things that I am happiest about is that the upcoming inauguration has more Americans taking an interest in the political history of our country. Some of this started during the campaign, of course. Some people, including Senator Ted Kennedy, compared Obama to John and Robert Kennedy; Caroline Kennedy and Ted Sorensen compared him to President Kennedy; some said he was advancing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream; and other people said that he wasn’t like JFK, RFK, or MLK at all.

During the democratic primary, one of our country’s leading historians, Sean Wilentz, was a strong supporter of Obama’s strongest opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton. Although I disagreed with him then, I consider his 2005 "The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln" to be one of the most important books for progressive and liberal democrats to read.

After Obama was elected and began to choose the people he wanted to serve in his administration, some began to compare Obama to Lincoln. This resulted in a renewed interest in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." This is another book that everyone should read.

President-elect Obama picked Senator Clinton to be his Secretary of State. I think it’s a good choice. More, I hope that Wilentz, who was a great admirer of JFK/RFK historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., will take a page from his book: Schlesinger, of course, had been a supporter of one of John Kennedy’s opponents for the 1960 democratic nomination, Adlai Stevenson. (And JFK appointed Adlai to the UN.)

On Christmas, I spent part of the day reading "Let Every Nation Know: John F. Kennedy in His Own Words" (it comes with a wonderful CD of his speeches), while my 14-year old daughter sat nearby, reading a book of Obama’s speeches.

This afternoon, at a local store, my daughters picked out a selection of Obama books, magazines, special edition newspapers, a calendar, and a poster. The 14-year old got Evan Thomas’s "A Long Time Coming"; the 11-year old got a book on the history of the presidency, from Washington to Obama.

It is interesting to compare the current interest in history, to the Bush-Cheney administration’s attempts to cut people off from their history. How many times did they try to scare people, by saying we faced enemies far worse than our nation ever faced before? And how often did they attempt to justify their planned destruction of the US Constitution, based on fear and paranoia?

These next few days are an important time in our nation’s history. But they are most important in the context of our historical process – from Washington to Obama.

Enjoy this time.
H2O Man

[Adsos Letter]

1. Nice points in that photo!

[H2O Man]

5. I agree.

My younger daughter took that photo. She is taking more to go with a book my sons are completing, between college and work.

[Booster]

2. Very nice post; you raised your daughters right.

[H2O Man]

6. They were both

Obama supporters before I had decided which candidate that I'd vote for in the primary. I had contributed financially to most of the democratic candidates, because I was interested in hearing more from each of them. I thought that we had as strong a field of candidates as I'd seen in my lifetime. But they already were pressuring to to support Obama.

[JimGinPA]

3. Very True...

K&R

[H2O Man]

7. It's the opposite

of what was happening eight years ago, when the US Supreme Court over-ruled the national election, and installed Bush-Cheney.

[mmonk]

4. I'm glad to see the interest from your daughters.

I think it would be a good time for adults across this nation to also gain a interest. It will give them a better grasp of how our ideas developed and maybe a better appreciation of its worth the next time someone tries to make them forget.

[H2O Man]

8. Exactly.

Any time a "leader" -- or "person in power" -- wants to make a population powerless, they will cut them off from their roots. Our democracy has no more chance of surviving if people do not understand the connections between the past and today, than a tree has a chance of surviving if it is cut off from its roots.

Our opportunity to repair and restore our Constitutional democracy is not something that Barack Obama can do alone. It involves all of us at the grass roots level. We need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way. This period of time allows us a unique opportunity.

[DemReadingDU]

9. Yes, Obama does need support from everyone

So much has been taken from us, from our Constitution, in the last eight years. And I see Obama talking to those who he needs support from - not only Democrats, but also Republicans, 'liberal' media, conservative journalists, black, white, rich, poor.

There has been too much excess spending, too much debt, our economy is tanking, that history is repeating from the 1920's into a depression similar to the 1930's. And with support from most people, Obama can lead us and guide us into a better country. It's not going to be easy, and it's going to take time, and everyone is going to need to sacrifice. Obama has been telling us this, but I think, at this time, we just want to celebrate our new president!

The thing is, that hardly anyone is alive today that has lived thru the 1920's and 1930's that we would be wise to re-read some history from that era to have an understanding what occurred, what our leaders did, and support Obama in the decisions he will be making. The survival of democracy, our country, depends on it.

[ms liberty]

10. K&R. Yes, this is a very happy time.

[mtnsnake]

11. Whether or not you realize it

what I like most about your OP's, besides them being intelligently written, is that they're almost always from your own head and not some article that you cut and paste. That's what makes them so refreshing, even if you and I don't agree 100% of the time. :)

on edit: Awesome post. K&R'ed

[Me.]

12. The Irony

is that despite the best efforts of Rove and Cheney, * has become a punchline and now throughout history, despite their predictions, he will be known as the worst president ever. Buchanan must be smiling as he's now off the hook. As for Cheney, his criminality is coming to the forefront. NPR just did a wonderful reveal on him and Mukasey now says he doesn't see how investigations can be avoided.

[TheDoorbellRang]

13. What I especially enjoyed yesterday were the history references

that Obama made at each whistlestop. By the stop in Baltimore when he noted the birth of the national anthem in that city, I turned to my husband and said, "If nothing else, Americans are going to know a lot more American history when Obama's done."

It seems to me he's not only good at mending our connections with each other, but also at mending our connections to our past. Quite a contrast, as you say, to the Bush administration's efforts to isolate us from each other and our own history.

K&R

[mzmolly]

14. "Enjoy this time."

I plan to take in every moment. Further, I just requested The Rise of American Democracy from the local Library. How wonderful it is to have a President Elect that will work on behalf of We The People, once again.

:hi:

[grantcart]

15. Someday these days will be the 'good ole days'

I honestly think that you should start either a reader's forum or a thread in another forum where we could read books together.

[sandnsea]

16. This is so goddamn exciting!!

Where's Ali? I haven't seen him. I hope he is experiencing this too.

[H2O Man]

17. I was hoping

to see Ali there. I'll ask my brother if he knows if The Champ is going to be in DC.

[H2O Man]

18. A history of music

today in DC. A lot of good "movement" songs.

[firedupdem]

19. Beautiful Post! Thank You! We should all be enjoying this time

in history.

[robertpaulsen]

20. Thank you for pointing out something I've been wondering about for a while.

Ever since the Clinton selection I've been hearing the Lincoln comparisons, hearing about the Team of Rivals from which that comparison springs, and ask others who brought it up: what about JFK? Didn't he have a varied cabinet, a very conservative joint chiefs to deal with (including Lemnitzer and LeMay during the Cuban Missile Crisis), Adlai Stevenson, LBJ for crying out loud. I wasn't around then, but I have to ask if JFK got any credit for structuring his government the way Lincoln did. In any case, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed this similarity.

[formercia]

21. Interesting mix of points

My guess Is Iroquois. The triangular one is a war point, the rest hunting.