I just returned home from a two-week vacation to the east coast. We traveled through six states and the District of Columbia in just over 14 days. We started in my wife’s home town of Oyster Bay (Long Island), NY and visited NYC, Pittsburgh (my home town), Morgantown, WV (where I went to college), Hagarstown, MD, Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, DC, and northern VA. We visited Raynham Hall (the home or Revolutionary War spy, Robert Townsend, AKA “Culper, Jr.”), Teddy Roosevelt’s grave and Sagamore Hill home, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Fort Pitt Museum, Carnegie Museum (Pittsburgh), and Mount Vernon, among numerous other sites and eatery. We visited friends and family. It was, for me, a time to reflect on the influences that have made me who I am.
I have a personal belief that three crucial writings should be a part of the high school curriculum. These are: The Gospel of Wealth (Andrew Carnegie), The Strenuous Life (Theodore Roosevelt), and “The Tragedy of the Commons” (Garrett Hardin). These have shaped my thinking over the years, and I revisit them often. I list these, not because I think that everyone should think like me (or these writers). I list these because they address problems the remain in our society and provide a platform for discussion.
My recent trip reminded me of how influential Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie have been and the legacy that they have left for all of us. I realized the significance of their impression upon me as I walked the grounds of Sagamore Hill and visited Carnegie Museum. I was compelled, during the trip, to reread The Strenuous Life, which is a series of articles that Roosevelt wrote around the turn of the 20th century. It stuck me how relevant these remain for us today.
Over the next few days, I intend to reflect on the influence of these men and, possibly, others (and women—e.g., Eleanor Roosevelt) and their relevance for the issues that confront us today. So, stay tuned….
Carpe momento!
“We are in honor bound to put into practice what we preach; to remember that we are not to be excused if we do not; and that in the last resort no material prosperity, no business acumen, no intellectual development of any kind, can atone in the life of a nation for the lack of the fundamental qualities of courage, honesty, and common sense.”–Theodore Roosevelt