On U. S. Grant, bad men, civil liberties, Scottish nationalism, missile defense, Giuseppe Verdi, and more
Into my inbox came a letter — a kind of press release — from the president of the Grant Monument Association. This monument is more popularly known as “Grant’s Tomb,” as in, “Who is buried . . .?” It is in Manhattan, N.Y., and I pass it often. A great monument.
The president informs us that U. S. Grant now has the rank of General of the Armies. Legislation to this end was passed in late 2022, and the “promotion” — that is the word used — was “processed” by the Defense Department earlier this year.
Three men hold the title of “General of the Armies” (they hold it posthumously, of course): Washington, Pershing, and Grant.
I wish to recommend an article — a review-essay — in The New York Review of Books, by David S. Reynolds. Its title: “Grant vs. the Klan.” Professor Reynolds begins with the question, “How could a slaveholder develop into one of America’s most determined enforcers of rights for African Americans?”
Before the war, Grant was not keen on emancipation. He was indifferent. “I have no hobby of my own with regard to the negro,” he said, “either to effect his freedom or continue his bondage.” But when he turned — boy, did he turn.
Reynolds quotes Frederick Douglass as saying that Grant was a “great man” for overcoming “popular prejudice” and showing a capacity to “adjust himself to new conditions, and adopt the lessons taught by the events of the hour.”
An inspired phrase: “adopt the lessons taught by the events of the hour.”
In his essay, Reynolds goes into the depredations of the Klan, which were horrifying. As president, Grant “was slow to respond to the Klan’s atrocities.” Reynolds continues:
He considered voluntary colonization, the transportation out of the country of beleaguered Blacks who wished to leave — a quixotic idea, advocated previously by Lincoln, Martin Delany, and others, that had yielded meager results over the years. Grant’s removal plan involved a proposed takeover of Santo Domingo (the Dominican Republic), which he considered large enough to receive relocated African Americans. The plan, which met with sharp criticism from Senator Charles Sumner and others, came to naught.
However, when Grant moved in more realistic directions, he did so aggressively. He stood firm in his support for the Fourteenth Amendment, which enforced civil rights nationally, and he pushed hard for the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave the vote to all American men regardless of color. When the amendment was ratified, he called it “the most important event that has occurred since the nation came into life.” . . .
With the implacability he had exhibited in his 1864 military campaign in Virginia, he went after the Klan.
Unfortunately, the Klan “made a huge comeback in the 1920s,” as Reynolds says, “reaching a nationwide membership of between three and eight million.” The chapters of America are diverse and gaudy.
When I was young, Grant had a bad reputation: corrupt, erratic, etc. I have seen his reputation rise and rise. (Professor Reynolds explains this.)
In any event, I salute the General of the Armies.
• You may have seen this news story, which begins,
The managing director of Harrods said Thursday the London department store is “deeply sorry” for failing employees who say they were sexually assaulted by late owner Mohamed Al Fayed. Police, meanwhile, said that over almost two decades, 19 women had made sex-crime allegations against the businessman, who was never prosecuted.
Mohamed Al Fayed was a bad man, right? Right. Jeffrey Epstein was a bad man, right? So is Harvey Weinstein. So is Kevin Spacey. So is . . .
Right. But also, they are . . . men, correct? Men in positions to act on their worst instincts. Most men are not business tycoons, high-flying financiers, movie moguls, movie stars . . .
I wonder how many men would act just as those guys have, if they had the opportunity. I suspect the percentage would be scary-high.
Sorry for the dark thought, but we explore a range of topics in this column, some of them discomforting.
• For the last many years, many of us have been thinking about “strength,” which Trump and his movement advertise constantly. Trump is “strong,” you hear. Putin is “strong.” Orbán is “strong.” Many of the rest of us are “weak.”
I have written lots of articles about this, and will not recapitulate them. But I was thinking the other day about bullying. Bullying and aggressiveness. I saw pictures of Proud Boys in Springfield, Ohio, strutting about with their flags.
And I thought, “This is not strength. It is but a parody of strength.”
I further thought about meekness (which many of us work on, to varying degrees of success). Meekness is a component of strength. Everybody knows about Jesus: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” But what about Moses?
The Book of Numbers tells us that “Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”
You will not find two greater examples of strength — real strength, not the pretend, play-acting kind.
• Early in the pandemic, Trump sent COVID-test devices to Putin. For Putin’s personal use. This is when relatively few Americans had access to those devices. A phrase comes to mind: “America First.”
• Gerhard Schroeder has made his endorsement in the American presidential race. From 1998 to 2005, he was chancellor of Germany. Then he went to work for Putin, making a fortune: associated with Nord Stream, Rosneft, and Gazprom. His choice: Trump.
So, the Republican nominee has at least one big Social Democrat in his corner. Political alliances can be queer.
(I realize that this word has taken on a different connotation in recent years, but the word is often so apt in its older meaning. Same with “gay,” come to think of it.)
• A headline from Sunday: “Trump tested the limits on using the military at home. If elected again, he plans to go further.” (Article here.) Civil libertarians, gird yourselves. (Some people are civil libertarians selectively. Conditionally. Others are that way 24/7.)
(After hearing David French speak about civil liberties and campus life, I confessed to him, “You make me feel that I’m a bad civil libertarian. For example, I don’t think there should be Nazi or Communist groups on campus.” David answered, “You’re not a ‘bad civil libertarian,’ Jay, you’re not a civil libertarian at all.” Ouch. Anyway, we discussed it. David is so wise on this subject, as on all others.)
• Who’s lying? Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, or Donald Trump? A further question: Doesn’t every Republican in the country know it’s Trump? Even if many, or most, would not say it out loud? Within themselves, don’t they know it?
This is a flat out lie. We’re working with all partners around the clock to get help to people. Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories have hurt the morale of first responders and people who lost everything, helped scam artists and put government and rescue workers in danger. – RC pic.twitter.com/QySXueCTOD
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) October 11, 2024
• “Alex Salmond, former Scottish First Minister who sought Scotland’s independence, dies at 69.” (Article here.) I am a great lover of Britain, as it is. I was very pleased when Scottish independence was rejected in the 2014 referendum. But I know myself a little — and if I were Scottish, I bet I would be a nationalist. Insults from the English would make me so. At any rate, I understand the Scottish nationalists, though, from an ocean away, I oppose their cause.
• Another article: “US will send a missile-defense system and troops to run it to Israel to aid defense against Iran.” (Here.) When I was in college, debate raged over missile defense. “Don’t militarize the heavens!” critics said. That phrase appeared on a bumper sticker. To my collegiate mind, the moral and strategic cases for missile defense were powerful. They still are.
Is not the debate settled at this point? Does an anti–missile-defense bloc still exist?
For years, I have thought of writing a book about missile defense — a political history, the political battle over missile defense, rather than a technological history (though there would be some of the technological, naturally). I wonder whether readers would be interested.
• Out my window, I see Verdi Square, in Manhattan. A statue of the great composer stands. Verdi Square was once known as “Needle Park,” for the drug addicts in it. In 1971, there was a movie, The Panic in Needle Park, starring Al Pacino.
We have our problems today, but what a better day it is.
On October 10, people gathered in the square, to honor Verdi’s birthday. They sang “Va, pensiero,” the great hymn from his opera Nabucco.
Viva Verdi, and long live culture. It makes our world so much richer, sweeter.
Later, y’all, and thanks for joining me.
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