Pomp, circumstance and dealing with failure
Published: 2/12/2013 4:05 PM
Last Modified: 2/12/2013 4:05 PM
Not sure if my kids are historically aware enough to have a favorite president yet, but I’m making a big plug for Abraham Lincoln. My father-in-law, World War II and Korean War veteran Bob Marks, would likely rank George Washington above Lincoln by a little bit. I can’t argue that point. They’re both great men, in my opinion, and have much to teach us about leadership and how we handle failure.
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was Tuesday and Washington’s comes up in another week and half. Forty-four heads of state have come in U.S. history and by most accounts those two men, No. 1 and No. 16 in presidential order, still rank one and two in the hearts of their nation.
Why? Well, children and faithful readers, let me tell you a few stories. One is about a rich man who took a major gamble with his life and fortune by agreeing to lead his upstart, mostly rural country’s ragtag army against the greatest power then known in the world, Great Britain.
He suffered failure after failure but won when he had to, at Trenton and Yorktown. Washington’s army had a lot of help from French, let us never forget that, but his track record is like going 8-8 on the season and then winning the Super Bowl. And, of course, you’d be executed if you lost the Super Bowl.
Washington would retire to private life but we called him back to service again. We tried a confederation form of government, but that didn’t work entirely so once again we asked for his leadership, electing Washington as our first president. The United States was only a generation removed from bowing to royalty and he could have forced that old comfort to his own benefit. Think of other democratically elected or revolutionary figures who became dictators, such as Napoleon, Castro and Hitler.
Instead, Washington set an invaluable tradition when he voluntarily stepped down after two terms. What humility, what foresight it must have taken to say no to ultimate power.
Abraham Lincoln is another lesson in humility. Consider our current time when politicians of both stripes preen and pout and view compromise, even to the greater good, as unacceptable. Lincoln was insulted and underestimated early on for his humble roots and downcast demeanor, then vilified later for the costs of the Civil War, the lack of military success early on, and even his efforts toward eventually abolishing slavery.
He was barely elected by a divided minority the first time around and won re-election against weak competition. Only his martyrdom quickly changed popular opinion about the merits of pioneer lawyer from Illinois. Lincoln worked with others, even those who disagreed or disputed his abilities.
When I was a kid and first saw a video about Lincoln and Washington in the third grade, I was utterly captivated. I went home, marshaled my Army men and turned it into a bedroom-floor play about great men doing great things for our country.
I have never lost that fascination for the best our country has to offer. I hope I’m at least trying to teach my children that greatness is not relative, that failure can be overcome and courage trumps power. But I am a poor vessel for such lessons. Lincoln and Washington are matchless examples of such shining qualities if we take the time to study them again.
Written by
Rod Walton
Staff Writer
