The Strenuous Life: The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, Volume 12 (of 14) — John Shaqi
The Strenuous Life: The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, Volume 12 (of 14)Roosevelt, Theodore
General
The Strenuous Life: The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, Volume 12 (of 14)
Roosevelt, Theodore
United States -- Colonial question; United States -- Politics and government
We need the worker in the fields of social and civic reform; the man
who is keenly interested in some university settlement, some civic club
or citizens’ association which is striving to elevate the standard of
life. We need clean, healthy newspapers, with clean, healthy criticism
which shall be fearless and truthful. We need upright politicians,
who will take the time and trouble, and who possess the capacity, to
manage caucuses, conventions, and public assemblies. We need men who
try to be their poorer brothers’ keepers to the extent of befriending
them and working with them so far as they are willing; men who work
in charitable associations, or, what is even better, strive to get
into touch with the wage-workers, to understand them, and to champion
their cause when it is just. We need the sound and healthy idealist;
the theoretic writer, preacher, or teacher; the Emerson or Phillips
Brooks, who helps to create the atmosphere of enthusiasm and practical
endeavor. In public life we need not only men who are able to work
in and through their parties, but also upright, fearless, rational
independents, who will deal impartial justice to all men and all
parties. We need men who are far-sighted and resolute; men who combine
sincerity with sanity. We need scholarly men, too—men who study all
the difficult questions of our political life from the standpoint both
of practice and of theory; men who thus study trusts, or municipal
government, or finance, or taxation, or civil-service reform, as the
authors of the “Federalist” studied the problems of federal government.
In closing, let me again dwell upon the point I am seeking to
emphasize, so that there shall be no chance of honest misunderstanding
of what I say. It is vital that every man who is in politics, as a man
ought to be, with a disinterested purpose to serve the public, should
strive steadily for reform; that he should have the highest ideals. He
must lead, only he must lead in the right direction, and normally he
must be in sight of his followers. Cynicism in public life is a curse,
and when a man has lost the power of enthusiasm for righteousness it
will be better for him and the country if he abandons public life.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account