GRANT US GRANT’S WISDOM
“I think that if there ever is another war in this country, it will be one of ignorance and superstition combined against education and intelligence.”
–U.S. Grant, Civil War General and 18th President of the United States
“Life after all is a conflict — in peace as in war. Grant was not only a great General, but an honest man, a somewhat rare combination in the history of war, which should teach us not only how to conquer our enemies, but how to master ourselves.”
–J.F.C. Fuller, military historian and author of THE GENERALSHIP OF ULYSSES S. GRANT
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How prescient the words of U.S. Grant seem now, in the waning days of the Presidency of Donald J. Trump, when over 70,000,000 Americans voted to re-elect a man they knew deep-down was not only utterly beneath the office, but a man incapable of moral honesty and caring about anything or anyone but himself….or, if they didn’t know, it was because of their ignorance, either willful or ill-informed.
It boggles the mind how we got to a point in this country where tens of millions of our citizens came out of our education system sorely lacking both a grasp of history and critical thinking skills. Why is it beyond us to teach our children how to think, as opposed to what to think?
I don’t know the answer — but I know we would be wise to take to heart the words of Edward R. Murrow at the end of his McCarthy-era broadcast during the height of a relevant period of fear mongering:
The Observation Post 
equipsblog 11:11 am on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
This is powerful. I plan to reblog it. Thanks.
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equipsblog 11:13 am on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Reblogged this on e-Quips and commented:
We have 6 years to our 250th birthday as a nation. I hope we can make it that long. Enablers of the President’s ongoing war against the election results make that a much less hopeful thought than it should be.
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mistermuse 12:57 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
A hopeful person once said “There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” It is doubtful the inhabitants of hell (if there is a hell) would agree, but hope springs eternal on earth….and I’m still here (barely).
P.S. Thanks for the reblog.
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magickmermaid 11:59 am on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Mind-boggling, indeed.
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mistermuse 1:01 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
I couldn’t have nailed it better in a thousand words, mm.
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BACK ROADS AND OTHER STORIES 12:16 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Exactly! So the first line of attack should really be education! There is still some hope if future generation can be intercepted before they are swallowed into the beast’s guts.
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mistermuse 1:14 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Absolutely….and not just education, but the right kind of education. For one thing, the teaching of history must involve more than names, dates and places, but also putting events in historical context — the why as well as the where and when. Facts, without understanding, amount to little more than trivia.
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BACK ROADS AND OTHER STORIES 2:41 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink
Exactly!
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mlrover 12:19 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
The first 13 years of my life were spent in Galena, IL where Grant lived prior to and intermittently after the war. There has been a great deal of inaccurate information written about him in the negative, but fortunately, there is his own writing and written accounts that prove his worth, honor, and intellect, a man small of stature and great in resolve. The Washburne House still stands in Galena, the only one in town with a ticker tape, where Grant heard that he had become president. In a time when First Nations people were being obliterated, and some of his policies were not the kindest, he had a Seneca in his cabinet.
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mistermuse 1:26 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Thank you for that interesting comment, mirover. I was born and live near Point Pleasant and Georgetown, Ohio, where Grant was born and lived as a boy. Both are historical sites which I’ve visited. Apropos of what you say of Grant, I highly recommend the book mentioned in my post: THE GENERALSHIP OF ULYSSES S. GRANT It’s long out of print, but if you search the internet, perhaps you can find a copy for sale.
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masercot 12:30 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Thinking takes effort… every time you have to examine an idea or a “fact”. Some people just don’t have the endurance to live their lives like that… so they get someone else to do their thinking for them.
It even gives you plausible deniability…
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mistermuse 1:49 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Well said, indeed. I know several Trump voters who are good people, but simply lack intellectual curiosity and the temperament to challenge what has been inculcated in them. We can only hope their children learn to think for themselves.
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Ashley 12:36 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
From across the ‘pond’, it is shocking to see the behaviour of the president AND the party he belongs to. Why do they still support him?
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mistermuse 1:52 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
I have no better answer than my reply to masercot (above); ’twas ever thus (and probably ever will be).
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Rivergirl 1:41 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Grant’s quote and Murrow’s words make you realize how little things ever truly change. Human nature is always our own worst enemy.
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mistermuse 1:55 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Eloquently said, Rg.
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Rosaliene Bacchus 3:34 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Great post, MisterMuse. Powerful opening quotes. Wise words from Edward Murrow. As a nation, we appear to have come full circle. How quickly we forget the lessons learned from our lived experiences.
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mistermuse 4:14 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Thanks, Rosaliene. I hadn’t planned on posting again so soon after my previous post, but after just finishing J.F.C. Fuller’s book on Grant, I felt the need to put my thoughts into words: “Strike while the iron is hot!” (as the ancient proverb exhorts us).
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obbverse 4:23 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
It is difficult for an angry mob to self-reflect when they’re pointing fingers and blaming everyone but themselves. Maybe- maybe- in time, in the quietude that comes after venting their spleens they might accept that they may have been blind to faults of their tin god and his cheap flaky gilt glamour. Maybe.
Surely some good can come out of seventy million mistakes? Call me cynical…
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mistermuse 6:37 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
I’m cynical too, but at least the glass is more than half full: Biden got 5,000,000+ more votes than Trump, and Trump won’t remain President for another four years. “Things could always be worse” may be a cliché, but in this case, one solitary cliché trumps seventy million mistakes.
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calmkate 4:32 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
great wisdom here MrM … this question resonated deepest as it’s troubled me for many years … “Why is it beyond us to teach our children how to think, as opposed to what to think?”
I pray he leaves soon …
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mistermuse 6:48 pm on November 18, 2020 Permalink |
Thank you, Kate. That is indeed a question for the ages.
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Elizabeth 5:57 pm on November 20, 2020 Permalink |
Can you even imagine a present day newscaster being able to write and then speak such coherent sentences. We lost a lot when the link between print journalism and television broadcasting was forever severed in favor of “attractive” news “reporters” reading off teleprompters.
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mistermuse 12:02 am on November 21, 2020 Permalink |
Oh, how America in these times could use a broadcaster of Edward R. Murrow’s integrity and authority. Even all these years after his broadcast of March 9, 1954 (shown in my post), I am still almost spellbound by the absolute rightness, power and conviction of his words. He spoke to our consciences without dissembling….and we KNEW he was right.
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Elizabeth 6:10 pm on November 22, 2020 Permalink
We watched him every week. I loved him as a kid without really knowing why.
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josephurban 9:51 am on November 21, 2020 Permalink |
I recently read Grant’s memoirs. Fascinating. He correctly analyzes the issue of the south. He points out that the entire south is an armed camp, with no real rights for anyone, white or slave. Dominated by a wealthy elite. Some things change very slowly.
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mistermuse 12:57 pm on November 21, 2020 Permalink |
Grant was not only a great General, but a humble man and an underrated President. Like everyone, he made mistakes, but unlike everyone, he learned from them. He sought not glory, but to do the right and honorable thing….the complete and absolute antithesis of Donald Trump.
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Ricardo 2:58 pm on November 26, 2020 Permalink |
I recently wrote that the polls revealed 41% of the American public to be bottom-feeding boneheads. Another polling error, I guess, as the election revealed that the true number was 47%. I take the opportunity to publicly correct myself here, Sr. Muse.
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mistermuse 4:25 pm on November 26, 2020 Permalink |
We can only hope that no more than 49% of Georgia voters vote for the two GOP senators in that state’s Jan. 5 election, otherwise Dems won’t gain control of the Senate and Mitch McConnell will trump practically every legislative move Biden/Harris make for the next four years.
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving and all that stuff(ing), Ricardo.
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