Wednesday; June 11
If there ever was an individual that seemed destined to failure, it was probably Andrew Johnson. Johnson was born in North Carolina, but raised in politics in Tennessee. He ran with Abraham Lincoln and was elected as vice-president in the 1864 election. Then, just a matter of weeks into this administration, Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed and Andrew Johnson became president. If the tragedy of the moment wasn’t tough enough, Johnson (the disenfranchised Southerner) had to follow the idolized martyred leader out of the Civil War and into the Reconstruction. Honestly, I am not sure Andrew Johnson or anyone was up to the challenge – but, suffice it to say, that it really didn’t get much better and his impeachment trial began in 1868. As you might imagine, Johnson was not reelected and Ulysses S. Grant became president in 1969. Johnson was able to make a political comeback, but by then his history was already being written. Traditionally, Johnson is ranked near the bottom of American presidents.
Now the reason for this brief biography is to set the background for one of his quotes. It is reported that he once said, “Washington D. C. is twelve square miles bordered by reality.”. I like that sentiment – not just about our nation’s capital – but about so many aspects of our lives. How many times do we view the world through some kind of shaded lenses that fails to take into account reality? Maybe it is the way we see our economy, our over-inflated ego, our political perspective or even our personal opinions. It is easy to make decisions without facts and rely too heavily on our own insights. Periodically, let’s trim the hedges around our personal perspectives and see life as it really is. When we do this, we just might be able to practice empathy and have the wisdom to do what is best for the most.
Think About It!