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Ronald Steel’s Followers (8)
Ronald Steel
Born
in Morris, Illinois, The United States
March 25, 1931
Died
May 07, 2023
More books by Ronald Steel…
“Even though a part of Lippmann was tempted to retreat from the world, to build "walls against chaos," he fought that temptation. He challenged himself, grappled with his demons, and deliberately pursued a career that forced him into the political thick of battle, did not allow him to withdraw from a fight, and exposed him every day to his enemies. That took a special kind of courage for a man who shunned personal contention.”
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
“he spoke of what he called the "inner history of weakness, of what disappoints us in leaders, the timidity of thought, the hesitancy and the drift." In these cases imagination and will are often blinded by "constructed evils," he wrote. "We falter from childhood amidst shames and fears, we move in closed spaces where stale tradition enervates, we grow hysterical over success and failure, and so by surrounding instinct with terror, we prepare the soul for weakness.”
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
“he recounted how he had laid his fears to rest one night in what was "undoubtedly the most heroic event of my life." Confronting the ghost, he got out of bed, turned on the light, "identified the ghost with the lace curtain, went back to bed, turned on the light once more, made sure that the ghost was the curtain, and felt immeasurably happier."
He told the story to illustrate how people were crippled by irrational fears of the unknown. But it revealed something more: not just the danger of "bogeys," as he called them, but the crucial role that reason played in his life. Reason was the light that dispelled darkness, turned ghosts into lace curtains, allowed men to confront and conquer the dark. Reason became a kind of religion. Even though he later came to admire the order and community of what he termed "higher religion," he continued to put his trust in reason rather than in mystery, in works rather than in faith. And he continued to look for men who could see beyond the "bogeys" and "constructed evils," for great leaders who could direct the passions of lonely men in crowds and guide them toward higher paths. From the time he was a child he sought out these men.”
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
He told the story to illustrate how people were crippled by irrational fears of the unknown. But it revealed something more: not just the danger of "bogeys," as he called them, but the crucial role that reason played in his life. Reason was the light that dispelled darkness, turned ghosts into lace curtains, allowed men to confront and conquer the dark. Reason became a kind of religion. Even though he later came to admire the order and community of what he termed "higher religion," he continued to put his trust in reason rather than in mystery, in works rather than in faith. And he continued to look for men who could see beyond the "bogeys" and "constructed evils," for great leaders who could direct the passions of lonely men in crowds and guide them toward higher paths. From the time he was a child he sought out these men.”
― Walter Lippmann and the American Century
Topics Mentioning This Author
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| The History Book ...: WOODROW WILSON: A BIOGRAPHY - GLOSSARY (SPOILER THREAD) | 345 | 156 | Jul 11, 2013 08:24AM |
