Lessons from the New Deal. It wasn’t one big package wrapped in political consensus. We look at the real, messy process that pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression.
Thomas Brunelle was recovering in a naval hospital in early 1919. As he waited to be discharged to rejoin his unit, he longed for the days, and nights, of excit
To discuss a theme I'm seeing in my work with leaders on a daily basis I need to go back 80 years into the past. Why? Because from a certain angle, the year 2020 looks a lot like 1940... A...
New scholarship upgrades America’s view on accepting Jews.
Franklin Roosevelt Jr. was quite the looker during his college years. Thanks to the Boston Public Library for publishing these photos.
Billed as a Fireside Chat, even though it was one of the hottest Summer days in Washington, President Roosevelt gave one of his frequent talks on the state of the Nation and the State of the Government. Assessing the accomplishments of the recently adjourned 75th Congress and his thoughts on the upcoming mid-term elections, FDR […]
"I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking."
Artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff commenced an oil portrait of Franklin Roosevelt at noon on April 12, 1945. This is as far as she got. FDR was being served lunch when he said, “I have a terrific headache”...
This fantastic Fireside Chat Analysis worksheet includes an excerpt of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first famous radio address along with analysis questions.Rather than have my students struggle through the long actual radio address, this shortened version gets to the core of what FDR was talk...
Valentine's Day and President's Day both suck, so let's just combine the two and call it a day.
The military seized her photographs, quietly depositing them in the National Archives, where they remained mostly unseen and unpublished until 2006.
The military seized her photographs, quietly depositing them in the National Archives, where they remained mostly unseen and unpublished until 2006.
The future First Lady learned at an early age that one's prospects in life were not totally dependent on physical beauty
FDR said "You have nothing to fear, but fear itself." Cecil echos that when he asks, rhetorically, "Why do I fear the answer." That is, why do I fear the choices I need to make about staying with C or not - and that I think the answer is I have to go. Interestingly, when I acknowledge that I have to go I can be more present to and with C and the kids - we're just home from a county fair and had a fabulous time. Even more oddly when I acknowledge I should go I feel like I can stay. My thought is that this is because I am finally comfortable knowing where and what I am and then I think - Hey I could live like this. Then the cycle begins. But back to the point at hand - what do I fear in leaving C. Cecil is undoubtedly right - I fear the unknown. I am one of those boring guys who will at least sometimes (not always anymore) choose a mediocre meal at a chain restaurant than try something new. The unknown is scary - not knowing what to expect. I don't think that the world will hate me fortunately, but I do know that coming out at work would not be a good idea and coming out to the people we went to the fair with tonight would be disastrous. My kids would be upset if/when C and I did not live together because that would mean they did not live with both of us. But they would not, I believe, reject me. But the fear of the unknown is only the tip of the iceberg. I also fear hurting/harming C and the kids. Some of that is undoubtedly excessive pride, but a lot is real. C and I grew up together in a real way. We have been together for over half our lives. I remember her younger siblings when they were younger than our youngest. Our separation/divorce will harm the kids - divorce always does. It does not have to be devastating, but it is not a walk in the park either. I fear the end of a vital relationship - some of that is above in length of relationship. But I will also miss C. She knows me FAR better than anyone else. I trust her more than anyone else. I fear losing her. And her Cecil is right - I fear the unknown. I haven't dated in a long time. And I didn't do that a lot or very well. Will I end up a lonely old guy. And back to C - will she end up lonely. The answer here is easy - no - not if we maintain the people we are. Both of us are the sort who are good friends. I fear the financial consequences of separating. They are real for both of us. We nonprofit guys are far from overpaid - at least this one is. So Cecil was right - the unknown is at the center of most of the fears; he's righter than I first thought he was. The fear of hurting others is real and not an unknown. But I know that doing what I am doing now is harmful. There is stress and tension in the house and in our lives that is not spoken and named for the kids - just, "Dad is having a tough time." What an understatement, but "Dad was seriously thinking of killing himself" would be too much. To carry on with quotes from WWII figures - "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Winston Churchill And that is really the place to turn here. The fear is real and not unrealistic, at least not entirely so. The road is not an easy one. But regardless of where it leads I can work to see the opportunity in every difficulty. It is when I see the difficulty in every opportunity that I get stuck. The difficulty is in being a gay man married to a woman. The opportunities I see there: I am alive and well. David is not. He was the guy I explored with in the 1970's. We parted ways. I went into the closest as the AIDS crisis began. David died "after a short illness" ten years ago. His parents would not say more than that. I have three wonderful children. I am not the same person I would have been with out them. C - I value and appreciate the time we have had. I have the opportunity to have a redo - to relive adolescence. It wasn't so good the first time!! I was looking out at it through the doors of a closet. I am not the man I was when I married. I have grown up; I am stronger; I can now face that greatest fear. "Honey, I think I might be gay."
A foreign princess? Who may or may not have had a spicy emotional affair with FDR? Ooh, la la.
