Prior to September 11,2001 we had a country that believed in leadership being the capacity to bring others together as one, while sustaining a hard focus upon a national goal.This leadership required an exercise of agility& flexibility to get to a point.
"If a leader truly has the nation's best interests at heart, then compromise is the only key to progress:No one group of Americans has a lock on the truth."
"Today we have defined leadership as 'standing your ground and digging in your heels,' lest one look weak. If that is leadership, then civility is all but unattainable and there is no prospect for fostering national unity. In this light our citizens' differing views can only be cast as zero-sum confrontations, and a welcome sight to out adversaries."
"Today we seem to think that strength is derived from winning every small fight, while raising ourselves up for recognition and advancement, even if others have to be diminished in the process."
America's role as a force for good is no longer viewed in this same light as we no longer understand who we've become as a people.
Strength takes a special type of character that utilizes courage, putting one's own house in order, possessing self discipline, prioritizing by taking others needs in advance of one's own.
It takes someone whose willing to not just talk but listen and compromise for the good of all people involved.
It involves a set factor of empathy and core values that cannot be taught but must be held from within as trust cannot be wavered and loyalty cannot be freely given. When one lacks accountability, responsibility, and sympathy one suffers greatly as power is not legitimate without these core principles.
"What Ike feared most in his years as president, as the national cohesion from World War II began to fade, was the kind of tribalism we have today. That is why he kept articulating the things that we could all agree on-like the rule of law.He would be shocked by our acceptance of cronyism, and by the fact that the shrinking middle class has few defenders. He would also oppose the special advantages that are seized by some while others lack access to opportunity. But most of all, he would be alarmed that common sense is often not even tried."
What kind of country will we be leaving behind for our kids, for our grandchildren, for the rest of the world and a nation as a whole?
"Will we bequeath them a country that values and nurtures our democratic system-one that stands above all others as a beacon of tolerance, a land of equal opportunity? Or will we fail them and ourselves and choose expediency and self-serving over sacrifice and stewardship?"
This book discusses all that and more as it provides a wonderful insight into the life and times of President Ike D. Eisenhower during the most tumultuous of times.
I would be remiss if I didn't note that I thoroughly enjoyed this read because of how Ike led with dignity, unity, perseverance, and pride while fostering unity & peace.
He was a man simply known as," The Boss" but was full of insight, honesty, and unmistakable adherence to strategies far beyond his times.
Perhaps his yearbook said it best," As big as life and twice as natural" - 1915 yearbook.
Ike was driven by his competitive edge but is was as much for himself as for anything else.
"Complacency, fear, greed, desperation and the pursuit of unbridled power can become drivers of amorality, and twisted logic."
Human emotions can inspire inhuman responses.
"Accountability, renewal, and eventually reconciliation could be the only way forward."
He had a duty owed and was ostracized on many sides to run for president yet he was a man constantly worried about the fate of democracy.
"The country was in danger of becoming a victim of paternalism, socialism, and dictatorship."
It was quite a wonderful eye-opening read that I purely enjoyed and I hope you find it well.
Thank you to Susan Eisenhower, the publisher, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
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