What Would Theodore Roosevelt Do?

In 1895 anti-Semitic German politician Hermann Ahlwardt came to speak in New York City. Local Jews were very upset and there was political pressure on the police department not to provide Ahlwardt any protection. The police commissioner at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, made sure to provide the visiting speaker with an adequate police escort; he also made sure that every officer in that security detail wasJewish. There was no better response than what Roosevelt did, and his gesture symbolized New York’s and America’s commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. 

This President’s Day, it is worth our time to look at who we consider our favorite president. For me there is no question: Theodore Roosevelt was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived and was one of our greatest presidents.

There’s something for people of all political persuasions to like in Teddy Roosevelt. He believed in a just and fair America that respected the environment and he believed in a united country not beset by the kinds of divisions lesser leaders have allowed to fester. He supported women’s suffrage and also wanted America to be a forceful leader in the world with a very strong military He fought against monopolies, passed important laws keeping our food and medicines safe, and created national parks that protect millions of acres of land to this day.

Theodore Roosevelt came back from great tragedy that stalled his political career—his wife and mother died on the same day—and was the youngest person ever to become president. While most former presidents today cash in on their notoriety with lucrative book deals and speaking engagements, Theodore Roosevelt went on a South American safari that nearly killedhim after losing the election of 1912. He was a war hero who braved Spanish cannon fire on San Juan Hill. He also once delivered a lengthy speech after being shot!

Few people in public office today could pass the character test and compare favorably to Roosevelt. He held to a code of honor that is unknown among most people we know in public life. Though he was born in to wealth and privilege that could have shielded him from hardship, he purposely strove to make himself strong and do things that were difficult. He lived his life for constant adventure and self-improvement. He was an avid reader and martial arts practitioner.

Truth, character, loyalty to the country above your immediate or self-serving interests: these are concepts that may seem quaint or get a lot of lip service, but Theodore Roosevelt lived them and expected America’s leadership to. Have our leaders lived up to the ideals Roosevelt set? How many of us can claim the levels of character and boldness that Roosevelt had? In my dreams I’m half as bold.

Though he is more closely associated with Oyster Bay on Long Island, Teddy Roosevelt was born in New York City. A few blocks from where I work in Manhattan is Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace. Sometime soon I will take time to visit and contemplate on American greatness and how we might improve upon it. In this and all matters of life, it pays to ask: What would Theodore Roosevelt do?

Tip Your Hat to Teddy Roosevelt

Happy Presidents Day. Today we honor the men who have served the United States as president. I’m certain not all of them are worthy of esteem, but the more I observe of the current political climate in Washington and the positions taken by both political parties, the more convinced I am that Theodore Roosevelt was our best president ever. If he were alive today, he’d gather all of the political leadership in Washington and run them through with a sword.

Democrats, emboldened by the recent election and the popular notion that demographic trends will give them automatic majorities in future elections, are brazenly offering to disarm law-abiding citizens while at the same time flooding our shores with more illegal immigrants and then offering those immigrants paper citizenship. They want to send more children to government day care with money we don’t have. Maybe the Chinese bond investors who are keeping this show afloat for now will oblige them for a little while, but borrowed money doesn’t last forever, and we’ve dug ourselves a big hole. They’re following the same predictable script that failed them in the 1960s and will fail them today.

Republicans are a party fixated on abortion and homosexuals, a sordid example of what Nietzsche said about chastity becoming its own perversion. They are complaining about budget deficits and government overreach of power now that a Democrat is running up deficits and grabbing for our guns. But they were remarkably silent when the most recent Republican president was running up the deficit, tapping our phones and throwing Americans in jail without trial. They seem to be stuck either rehashing the talking points of Ronald Reagan’s first presidential campaign or trying to offer Democratic-lite overtures. They are unprincipled money men doing the bidding of their corporate masters. They are vacillators who poop their collective pants when someone accuses them of racism.

I’m standing with Theodore Roosevelt. If there was one U.S. President who was a man among men and was the most take-no-bullshit of any president, it was Teddy.

T.R. was a president who would take no quarter with the anti-intellectualism of today’s Republicans or the effete snobbery of today’s Democrats. He was a Harvard graduate who read a book a day and was brave in battle and on safari. He refused to be bought by special interests, even after taking their money (a ballsy move). He once gave a speech after being shot. He was as politically shrewd as he was personally bold, yet he ended his career as a third-party candidate, shaking his fist at the sellouts who came in after him.

So this Presidents Day, I tip my hat to Theodore Roosevelt. May we someday see a leader like him in the White House again.