character, and the
common moral sentiment
were their own safeguards
As long as he was able to maintain that by a broad restoration of individual character war would strengthen his society, Theodore Roosevelt could ignore the problem of power.
He, with William McKinley, Pierpont Morgan, and others of the old consensus, assumed that character automatically controlled power.
The decisions of self -regulating men of character would be right, socially beneficent, indeed altogether irreproachable, whether the issue were a vote, a war, an industry, or a canal.
Character, and the common moral sentiment for which it stood, were their own safeguards against any abuse of power.
The Mirror of war: American society and the Spanish-American War by Gerald F. Linderman (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1974).
Along with everything else any cat might drag in, there seems to be a hue and cry against the evils … THE EVILS … of higher education.
The type of place that might teach that character, and the common moral sentiment for which it stood, were their own safeguards against any abuse of power.
Boy HOWDY but do I see why there are those who don’t want anything like that to be taught to college age kids.
Just imagine if a batch of 22 year-olds were dropped into society thinking that character, and the common moral sentiment for which it stood, was important!
I can imagine it.
It was me.
This book was written by Dr. Gerald F. Linderman, the man who gave the 1st real college lecture I ever had the privilege, AND I DO mean privilege of attending.
He taught a survey class of United States History from the Civil War to WW2.
He would stand in front of the class in this huge lecture and at 10 after the hour he would start speaking.
You could soon hear him through out the hall, not that spoke louder but the class would suddenly get less than quiet.
Early on I found out the best seats were in the front rows and I would sit back, spell bound, and listen as Dr. Linderman spun a tale of hero’s and villain’s as he taught the history of the United States.
For the rest of the time I was in college, I took every class I could from Dr. Linderman.
And if there weren’t classes from Dr. Linderman, there was Dr. Fine, Dr. Lockridge and Dr. Lindner.
See, I went to the University of Michigan.
I went to the University of Michigan and I am proud of it.
Sure I like the football team and the basketball team and the big stadium.
But I am here to tell you that if all I could brag about was the 6,000,000 books in the library and the way my mind got opened up by people who understood the value of such a library, I would wear a a Michigan T shirt with just as much pride.
I know, I know, I know, a lot of that comes across as pretty arrogant but if you were there and experienced the challenges, well, all I can say is that it was a pretty special place and it created pretty special people.
Yes I felt I was at one of the top universities in the world.
Yes, I felt I was up against other students who were among the top students anywhere.
Yes, I felt I held my own and if I could hold my own against those students at that University, then yes, I felt I could succeed anywhere.
If that’s arrogance, then so be it.
Because along with those challenges, it was up to you to embrace it.
It wasn’t for everyone
But if you did, the University embraced you back.
There was another student favorite Professor who taught great books by the name of Dr. Ralph Williams.
Each year he would open his class with a welcome speech.
I have done my best to reconstruct this speech from memory.
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the University of Michigan!
You have come to a great university, and you come now into a time of extraordinary possibility. This university, vast and varied, is a world unto itself—a place where people from across the globe gather, not only to learn, but to inquire, to explore, and to become.
At Michigan, you will encounter ideas that will challenge you, and people who will expand your understanding of the world. You will study with faculty who are among the best in their fields—who have committed their lives not only to knowledge but to the transformation that knowledge can bring.
And you—each one of you—belong here. Regardless of your background, your accent, your style, your strengths, your uncertainties—you are meant to be here. You have been chosen not only for what you have already achieved but for what you might become.
You are now part of a living tradition, stretching back over 200 years, and yet always reinventing itself. You walk in the same Diag as poets and scientists, as civil rights leaders and Nobel laureates, as people who once stood where you stand, wondering what lies ahead.
My friends—because you are my friends—make the most of this time. Read deeply. Ask questions. Dare to speak. Dare to listen. Reach out to those unlike you, and learn from them. Seek not only information, but understanding. Seek not only success, but wisdom.
And remember: you are not alone here. You are part of a community that believes in you, that hopes with you, and that stands ready to help you grow.
Welcome to the University of Michigan.
Welcome home.
Look, if your college experience wasn’t like this, I am sorry.
I probably had more fun than I should have.
But I grew up a lot as well.
And I can see how an experience like this might scare a lot of people.
Kids, young kids, going someplace where the Professors said:
Ask questions.
Dare to speak.
Dare to listen
A place where people from across the globe gather, not only to learn, but to inquire, to explore, and to become.
I always remembered you are not alone here. You are part of a community that believes in you, that hopes with you, and that stands ready to help you grow.
Scary right?
I sure do understand why some folks would be afraid of places that teach things like that.
Oh geeee whiz.
BTW – As for higher learning, I once was supposed to meet my friend Doug, in front of this building, Angell Hall, on Central Campus. It was winter and I made a bunch of snowballs and hid behind the columns waiting for Doug to come walking up the sidewalk. Standing there, snowball in hand, I heard, HEY MIKE. Doug had come thru the building and came out behind me. Sometimes you can be friends too long.
No Haiku For You 