Ike’s leadership remembered

Oct. 14 was the 135th anniversary of the birth of Abilene, Kansas, native Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Ike, of course, was the architect of the D-Day invasion in June 1944 that freed the world of Nazi Germany by May 1945 and then was elected the nation’s 34th president in 1952. Eisenhower was known for his craftiness and insight. He grew up working in a creamery, which instilled a work ethic although he was never given credit for as president until historians took note after his death in 1969. Ike had an understanding of the agricultural struggles of the 1920s and 1930s in rural America.

As president, his comment on agriculture remains a benchmark that congressional members from both parties note, including Kansas Rep. Tracey Mann whose expansive district includes Abilene.

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field,” Eisenhower said.

Ike was known for keeping his cool under pressure. He had to, whether it was building an Allied Forces coalition during World War II or in dealing with Cold War challenges.

While keeping his cool he flashed his anger when he saw the Nazi death camps as World War II concluded and made sure that media could see the first-hand the atrocities of war so they could document it for all the world to see. As president he saw what happened when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling was ignored and he sent troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to make sure a school could be opened so Black students could attend.

As our nation today watches a shutdown of our government, I am sure if Eisenhower was alive, he would be chaffed. Of course, he served in a simpler yet uncertain world.

The 1950s were known for economic prosperity in the United States and yet Ike knew that not everyone prospered in America and it was even less certain in many other nations.

Those observations remain in place and serves as a reminder that prosperity and peace, all noble goals, if often elusive. Ike never gave up hope, but also urged Americans to be wary about an obsession of money or “the military industrial complex” that took precious resources and applying them to institutions that were filled with largesse and not helping people who may face hopelessness instead of hope.

Today’s recent government shutdown is an indicator of a failure of leadership with a shared responsibility. Congressional leaders, from both sides, seem to want to avoid making tough decisions. It was also Ike who said to avoid extremes and govern from the middle.

A shutdown has closed the Farm Service Agency when farmers and landowners need questions answered. It also means no action on a farm bill by Congress as both parties believe that rhetoric only will forge a solution.

Of course, that was an era 70 years ago, long before social media and political consultants who pander to emotion rather than facts. Each side cites pollsters that indicate the general public supports their position.

The right course is to tone down rhetoric, roll up the sleeves, and find a solution. That’s what Ike would say.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].

TOP PHOTO: President Dwight E Eisenhower. (Courtesy of Eisenhower Presidential Library.)