What Would Eleanor Say?
“Great minds discuss ideas
Average minds discuss events
Small minds discuss people”
I wish I could take credit for this quote; it was written by Eleanor Roosevelt about 70 years ago. The words seem especially relevant now, as gossip and judgment have devolved into an entitled self-righteousness which prevents us from understanding and empathizing with our fellow humans…..we have become reactionary and disconnected from our humanity. Let us stop for a moment and reflect. There is so much grandeur in this world, in the universe. There are awe-inspiring natural occurrences everywhere. There is a vast array of music to fill our hearts. (Please don’t ever tell me there is no more good music; if so, I will be happy to send you some of the greatest and most unique music I have ever heard.) There are profound scientific and technological discoveries every day. There are humanitarians who show us how to help, to guide and to protect our natural resources and our people. There are beautiful acts of grace that simply go unnoticed by us because we are too distracted by “the noise” to listen.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a quiet and unassuming woman, an introvert. Her dedication to the underprivileged, underrepresented and forgotten people of the world was profound, and life changing. She found her voice through her passion for activism both during and after her four terms as First Lady. She helped her husband become president, and then became his support, his intellectual guide, his partner in taking this country through the most difficult times in the last 100 years, the Great Depression and World War II. She was a writer and had her own column for years. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace and the civil rights of African Americans, Asian Americans, and WWII refugees. She pressed the US to join and support the United Nations and became its first delegate as well as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. Her thoughts were magnanimous and inspirational. Her language was simple but eloquent and thought-provoking. Somehow, through it all, she kept her calm. She gave FDR the needed guidance in order to make rational, but not always popular decisions. The country made it through, however not without great loss.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
If you need inspiration in your life now, perhaps a philosophy to live by, to reset your thoughts, I highly recommend Eleanor’s book, “You Learn by Living.” Perhaps for a while, redirect from books, news, magazines that reinforce the narratives we already believe, and let your mind expand with the great thoughts and vision of another time in history.
Perhaps the next time we say something that we feel strongly about in order to provoke, we should ask ourselves, “what would Eleanor say?”