My father has been taking his now 14 year old grandson, my nephew, to presidential museums. His goal is to see all of them together and they only have 5 left to go! My nephew is a history buff and loves spending this time with his Papa. I've not been to very many of these incredible sanctums of history but on our family holiday trip to CA I went along.
Our initial voyage was to Nixon. This would have been my first president as I was born in 1969. My father was very active in Republican politics at the time as a Nixon supporter and delegate to the national convention. My aunt worked in the Nixon white house for the First Lady. Most of my real knowledge of Nixon is about Watergate. My vision of him: "I am not a crook". I blithely asked my father before we went..."what are we going to learn about Nixon other than scandal?" His eyes lit up and he began to tell us stories of Nixon's WHOLE legacy. When entering the library one of the quotes on the wall struck me first:
"May the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close" President Clinton in his eulogy of Richard Nixon
Some key points of Nixon's legacy:
- Ended the Vietnam War
- Created the EPA
- Created OSHA
- Improved relations with the Soviet Union and China
- Enacted the Endangered Species Act
- Advocated for Minority and Women's Rights
And yes there was scandal and disgrace, much the making of his own personal demons, and things many disagree with, but I agree with President Clinton in looking at the whole of this very complex and accomplished man.
In his later life he became a trusted adviser to Reagan, the Bushes and even Clinton himself. With all the amazing history learned, what struck me most was his perseverance. He lost many important contentious elections and political fights but he got back up and fought again and again.
"Defeat doesn't finish a man, quit does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits." President Nixon
A great lesson to us all as we move into a new year with new challenges and likely some fresh defeats. Let's get back up, edure and win again!
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