Monday, October 27, 2008
Teddy Roosevelt
I've been listening to Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography on Librivox. Going from one section of the book to another — the chapters most relevant to our times most appealing — you can't help but admire the man — his scope, intelligence and decency. The following quotation was offered by Roosevelt as his favorite:
It is so much easier to be a harmless dove than wise serpent.
—Josh Billings
From wiki:
He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved forty monopolistic corporations as a “trust buster”. He was clear, however, to show he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against corrupt, illegal practices. His “Square Deal” promised a fair shake for both the average citizen (through regulation of railroad rates and pure food and drugs) and the businessmen. He was the first U.S. president to call for universal health care and national health insurance. As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. After 1906 he attacked big business and suggested the courts were biased against labor unions.
He hated the name Teddy but the teddy bear was named after him because he refused to kill a captured black bear simply to kill.
Henry Adams said about him, “Roosevelt, more than any other living man ….showed the singular primitive quality that belongs to ultimate matter – the quality that mediaeval theology assigned to God – he was pure act.”
In the land of top ten lists Teddy is usually ranked in the top five, says wiki.