Up from Slavery

History has always been interesting to me, but like most people, there are parts of history that have a greater pull than others.  The Revolutionary War and the Founding have always been favorites of mine along with World War II.  I received two coffee table books as a kid from my grandparents, one about the Revolutionary War and one about the Civil War.  These were quality books made by National Geographic, back before that organization went political.  Along with some sound commentary, there were plenty of maps, graphics, and pictures that held a young boy’s attention long enough to foster an interest in these two seminal events in the history of the United States.

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (ISBN: 978-0-9997797-3-6) tells of the famous educator’s life from his early boyhood as a slave to his rise as a professor and principal (these days we’d probably say president) of the Tuskegee Institute.  The book was short on the childhood section, understandably so, since he was so quite young when slavery ended and had spent his days like all the other slaves: working.  Once freed, he and his family struggled like many to find work that would pay the bills, but they succeeded, and his mom encouraged an innate love for learning that eventually led to Washington’s heading off to the Hampton School.  A popular place with newly freed blacks trying to improve their lot, the school didn’t have a lot of room, but Booker so impressed the lady in charge of admissions when he was asked to clean some of the school rooms, that he made it in.  He didn’t squander a single opportunity, graduated, and then set about to provide opportunities for others.  What that led to was his founding the Tuskegee Institute.  The greater section of the book is spent chronicling how the school came about, its struggles and successes, and its growth and Washington’s efforts to promote the school and secure the funding needed to keep it on its own two feet.  He worked hard no matter what he was involved in, whether teaching, overseeing the school, working in his own home with animals and in his garden, or fundraising.  He was also a well-known and in-demand orator, invited to speak at functions, fairs, and other public events.  Throughout the book, he spends significant time noting that service, hard work, fulfilling one’s duties, giving things one’s best shot, and honesty are the keys to success and happiness in life.  He also touches on the question of race and racism, but only as a reality that is in the background and that mostly stays there when one develops the abovementioned qualities and masters skills that others require, such as the brickmaking, animal husbandry, sewing, architecture, dairy farming, and others that his school taught in addition to academic subjects.

While very much aware of Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments because I don’t remember a class or unit on American history in school that didn’t include him (as he said, if one works hard and does something that others find useful, one will have earned respect and likely at least some recognition), the book was interesting to read because there was more to his life’s philosophy than the education that he is most famous for.  Washington was a hard worker who believed in taking the bull by the horns and not allowing life, fate, other people (including other people’s choices), or whatever other thing people blame their failures on control him.  He believed others had a better chance to be successful if they were educated both academically and in life skills and professional knowledge.  He dedicated his life to making that happen, noting along the way that he was most fulfilled when helping and serving others.  I enjoyed reading his take on race and racism — he largely ignored it.  He was a former slave, but had no time for holding grudges and found that a straightforward approach that did not insult Southerners, but found a way to lift them up, helped the most.  The relations between the blacks and whites in Tuskegee were good in his opinion, so the proof is in the pudding as far as his approach is concerned.  Finally, Washington continually gave credit for his success to God, which is always refreshing.  Both historically and morally, the book was great and well worth the time.

   

This work, including all text, photographs, and other original work, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License and is copyrighted © MMXXI John Pruess.

Profiles in Corruption

Modern-day politicians (and by “modern-day” I have pretty much anyone elected after 1900 in mind) are famous for being spineless rags that twist whatever way the wind and for being willing to adopt pretty much any position for the right sum of money (usually a lot lower than one would think it should be).  One of my favorite examples of this is Louisiana’s former U.S. representative, William Jefferson, who took a ton of bribes and was caught when federal investigators found $90,000 wrapped up in aluminum foil in his freezer.  Both of America’s major political parties are susceptible to this major fault.  In books and movies, corruption has a little bit of a glamorous or adventurous feel to it, often tied to the mob or opulent, fast-lane living.  The truth certainly includes some of that, but is mostly full of boring paperwork that lawyers and accountants deal with in an attempt to cover the trail between politicians and the dirty money they use to enrich themselves, their friends, and their families.

Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America’s Progressive Elite by Peter Schweizer (ISBN: 978-0-06-289790-9) examines the corruption of some of the American Left’s biggest stars: Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders, President Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Eric Garcetti, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Schweizer could’ve written a book like this about Republicans, too, but chose not to since Leftists claim they fight against big business and cronyism and are believed by a significant swath of the public.  With that hypocrisy as a background, the corruption seems even worse as it’s not just corruption, but also a lot of lying.  All of them are long-term public officer holders that have been involved in hardly any business activities, yet have wielded the power that comes with their offices to enrich themselves, their friends, and their families.  Schweizer chronicles these politicians’ activities throughout their careers, which includes their time in local and state office as well as on the national stage.  As they move up the ladder, their influence grows, and the amount of money they’re able to command in exchange for various favors grows in a corresponding manner.  One of the most popular schemes was earmarking federal funding for ones’ friends and families via authority over grants and programs (all of them) or writing laws that benefit a friend’s law firm (Harris, Klobuchar) or a brother’s real estate development project (Biden).  The book is full of stories of politicians claiming to be tough on crime, for example, but then not prosecuting their political allies.  There are stories of politicians writing laws that make it possible for family and friends to develop property formerly off limits.  In every case, the politician in question also comes out ahead.  Schweizer ends by claiming that there is a certain level of responsibility for the corruption with the American voter because these politicians keep being re-elected.

The book is a quick read and quite interesting.  It’s also depressing on a certain level because these are only a few of the examples of corruption.  Like Schweizer claims, everyone knows it’s a bipartisan problem, too.  I thought the fact that there were so many examples made the book’s case stronger.  These examples of corruption were not some one-off thing.  These are embedded habits.  While I tend to generally agree with Schweizer’s conclusion that we get what we vote for, one thing that depressed me throughout the book was simply the amount of public money available.  A lot of this corruption would not be possible if there was not so much public money available.  There are so many things the government has no business being involved in.  If it was smaller, the way it should be, there would be a lot fewer opportunities for politicians to be bought.  In that way, I disagree with Schweizer’s conclusion.  Reduce the size of government and this problem takes care of itself to a certain degree.

 

This work, including all text, photographs, and other original work, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License and is copyrighted © MMXXI John Pruess.