OPINION: Today, “America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration”
Contributed
January 10, 2023
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – One hundred years ago America had experienced some catastrophic events that resulted in the loss of life and a displacement of people around the world.
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. He was running for the presidency in 1920.
In 1920, Harding laid out what he knew was needed in America in view of what the country had gone through between 1914 and 1920. The past few years were filled with one crisis after another.
In his speech… before the Home Market Club in Boston on May 14, 1920… future president Warren G. Harding said:
“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.”
Why did America need “healing”?
The global community had been involved in a Great War. World War I (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, also known as the Great War, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history.
The main belligerents included much of Europe and their colonial empires, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Ottoman Empire and the Japanese Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia.
An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire.
What other crisis occurred?
The Great Influenza epidemic or as some called it the Spanish flu which was a common misnomer for the 1918 flu pandemic infected the whole world, with the exception of two small islands in the Pacific.
The epidemic was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in Kansas, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April.
Two years later, nearly a third of the total global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves. Estimates of deaths range from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.
America faced many challenges
The future President Harding likened the country to an infected body which needed healing. The whole world was “on fire!”. It was a consuming fire. The trauma being experienced was destroying the fiber of America’s families, cities, states, and communities.
There were race riots, massacres, street protests, anarchists, plotters and schemers working against the governments and above all was this ongoing virus that threatened the health of everyone in the country.
In an interview with a survivor of the Great Influenza epidemic, a reporter remarked, “It was hard to imagine what life must have been like in 1918.”
Harding: America needs “healing”
Against the backdrop of all those crisis-level events, the future President knew if he was going to win the 1920 election he needed to offer hope to the population. The country needed reassurance looking forward… a better life was ahead. So, he laid out what America needed.
Heroics can be defined as extravagant or melodramatic language or behavior. America needed healing and not heroics.
Nostrum is a medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and with no demonstrable value; quack medicine. America did not need ‘quack medicine’… America needed normalcy and not nostrums.
Revolution is an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed. America needed restoration not revolution.
Agitation is defined as persistent urging of a political or social cause or theory before the public. America needed adjustment not agitation.
Surgery can be defined as the art, practice, or work of treating diseases, injuries, or deformities by manual or operative procedures. America needed serenity not surgery.
Dramatic can be defined as the characteristic of or appropriate to the drama, especially in involving conflict or contrast. America needed the dispassionate not the dramatic.
Experiment can be defined as a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition. America needed equipoise not experiment.
Submergence is the act of burying or suppressing something, or the state of being buried or suppressed. America needed non-stop sustainment in triumphant nationality not unnecessary distractions.
Today, America needs “healing”
As of today, America has lost over 1.1 million of our fellow Americans in this current COVID-19 pandemic. America is faced with challenges to our core principles and our commitment to democratic values.
Staggering inflation and other economic issues are facing nearly every family. The rising cost of housing and homelessness is a growing concern. Lack of fresh water security in the western states continues to be a major concern.
Racially-motivated hate crimes, antisemitism, gun violence, domestic violence, retail theft, crimes against seniors, identity theft, and more crimes that appear to be on the rise.
To combat these crimes is our community of law enforcement professionals. If you are a victim of crimes, notify your local law enforcement agency. They can and will bring perpetrators to justice. Never take the law into your own hands.
Americans are committed to “healing”
In his inaugural address Warren Harding declared, “Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much from the government and at the same time do too little for it.”
Local business owners are continuing to growing their business. Contrary to many reports, many companies are expanding their businesses. Major employers are creating employment opportunities.
The pandemic has continued to be an issue for many. However, America is open for business. Americans are traveling to visit friends and families, attractions, taking vacations, and getting back to normal, or normalcy like President Harding referred to it.
Government seeks & implements solutions
Governments at all levels have addressed many major issues and are implementing solutions facing their communities. Climate change is taking a toll on the environment. However, the arch of progress is bending in the direction of needed solutions.
Democracy works when government officials seek solutions through dialogue and communication.
Americans know the great tasks in front of government are being addressed everyday while realizing there are no quick fixes. Citizens realize the need to support the effort of government and their local representatives to make their lives better.
Many Americans are not expecting too much from government but are united as supporters of the government’s effort as they work as builders of the homeland and not destroyers.
Everyday is a better day. America is back from many of the pandemic issues and going strong. Americans supports the government’s effort to help us collectively face issues we face. That’s a good reason to following its lead. Doing this ultimately helps the country.
Patience necessary to find solutions
“Healing” does not come with instant solutions to problems. President Harding knew it would take time to find and implement solutions. This requires patience. As citizens, patience is a necessary part of the solution to life’s problems. The same applies to local, state, and national problems.
Patience is one of the seven capital virtues, also known as contrary or remedial virtues, are those opposite the seven deadly sins. They are often enumerated as chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.
You may ask, “What are the seven deadly sins?” They are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. All seven stand in the way of solutions to life’s problems as well as local, state, and national problems.
President Warren Harding was right!
“America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration; not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality.”
By the way, Warren G. Harding won the 1920 election with 60.2 percent of the popular vote, the highest percentage since the evolution of the two-party system, and 404 electoral votes.
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