Franklin: a word for a free man

[hairyears]

"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power

Comments

[htfb]

Though your link is actually to the greater Roosevelt, Teddy, whom generations of graduate students will know for his opinion that it is not the critic that counts, not the man who points out where the strong man stumbles, or how the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with dust, and sweat, and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who spends himself in a worthy cause.

(Et cetera.)

[hairyears]

Thank you for the correction!

Post amended.

[fjm]

Oh I don't know about forgotten. Because I also worked in religious history I kept coming up against loathing of FDR that I thought the sane world reserved for Hitler. When H Clinton was running, the similarities with attitudes to E Roosevelt in terms of both rhetoric and vitriol were marked.

[jamesofengland]

Yeah, I think that the combined ideology of the 4 progressive Presidents (TR, Wilson, Hoover, FDR) are pretty widely discussed in US political circles outside the left (that is, discussed in independent fora like USA Today, Atlantic Magazine, etc.,) and heavily discussed in fora of the right, whether Libertarian (Reason Magazine etc.), Fusion (National Review), Neo (Weekly Standard/ Commentary), Social, or paleo. Probably more discussed than, say, the Civil War. Certainly more than the Post-War presidents. The quote you have there is FDR praising TR, using his one of his most used formulations for attacking enemies; you'll notice that it's essentially the same as, eg., his criticisms of public sector unions.

[balarza]

Also, a version of Curran (1790): 'the price of freedom is eternal vigilance'.

[downybearded1]

Very true. Eleanor Roosevelt said some interesting things too. I wonder what they would have been like to have over for dinner.