WIST Quotations

Schlesinger, Arthur -- “The Decline of Greatness,” Saturday Evening Post (1 Nov 1958)

Dave — Thu, 07 May 2020 22:35:18 +0000

Brave men earn the right to shape their own destiny.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007) American historian, author, social critic
“The Decline of Greatness,” Saturday Evening Post (1 Nov 1958)
(Source)

Reprinted in The Politics of Hope, ch. 2 (1963)

Mencken, H. L. -- “On Being an American” (1), Prejudices: Third Series (1922)

Dave — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:58:32 +0000

The chief business of the nation, as a nation, is the setting up of heroes, mainly bogus.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“On Being an American” (1), Prejudices: Third Series (1922)

Johnson, Lyndon -- Editorial (1929-07-17), Southwest Texas State Teachers College College Star, San Marcos

Dave — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:45:46 +0000

Down with the debunking biographer. It now seems to be quite a thing to pull down the mighty from their seats and roll them in the mire. This practice deserves pronounced condemnation. Hero worship is a tremendous force in uplifting and strengthening. Humanity, let us have our heroes. Let us continue to believe that some have been truly great; that it lies within human ability to overcome temptations and trials; that it is sublime to suffer and be strong. Petty biographers with inferior souls and jealous hearts would rob us of these happy privileges. Sensationalism is alright for yellow journalism, but in biography we wish to see our famous men and women as they were and feel the power of the strength and beauty of their lives. Down with the debunking biographer.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Editorial (1929-07-17), Southwest Texas State Teachers College College Star, San Marcos

Quoted, in parts, in William C. Pool, Emmie Craddock, David Eugene Conrad, Lyndon Baines Johnson: The Formative Years, ch. 6 (1965) and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, ch. 2 (1976).