Remembering our Public Servants

I’ve always felt that I have had the privilege to live in one of the most interesting times one can live in, having been born of parents whose own parents came here as immigrants during one of the most fascinating of times. That my mother’s own dad fought in World War I against the Kaiser and my own father was a member of the Greatest Generation having served during World War II is kind of amazing to me, to say the least.

I’ve grown up during an exceptionally stimulating time. Born of parents who certainly have witnessed some of the best and worst of times, and my generation, like theirs, would bear witness to a new beginning in many ways after a war that demonstrated man might now hold in his hands the ability to destroy the world we’ve inherited.

John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to pick up the torch that my parents had passed on to the next generation as a result of their sacrifices. He eloquently spoke to that responsibility in his Inauguration Speech. “The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has been committed, and to which we are committed to today, at home and around the world,” President Kennedy said.

Those words by that young President of our great nation will always be embedded within the hearts and souls of the America I was brought up to respect and serve within.

They could be found in the commitment to service by those who have recently passed during this last month as our nation has mourned great leaders we have taken the time to remember over these last 30 days or more.

The vision which saw a young man who would flee his home country of Germany with his family due to Nazi persecution in 1938 would see him rise to become one of the most respected geopolitical consultants of our times. He was not always celebrated due to some of his more polarizing attributes and his “worldview” of the political landscape. However, his opinions and viewpoints were widely sought out on the world stage as being more pragmatic the older he would get.

Henry Kissinger continued to be actively involved on the world stage at the age of 100, meeting most recently with the leaders of China.

The passage of Eleanor Rosalyn Carter will be one best remembered for how she touched the hearts of the American people because of who she was as a person. She had no royal trappings or great political ambitions, only that of being the unassuming wife of the 39th President of the United States and using her position as an advocate for women’s rights and mental health.

She did have an impact on the world due to her kindly demeanor and as a compassionate humanitarian, while quietly going about her role at the side of the President.

It wasn’t so much the invitation lists she would find her way onto, but instead those men, women and children that would line the roadways leading to Plains, Georgia, to say goodbye to the woman they adored as being a kind person. 

Sandra Day O’Connor was far from a household name prior to her being chosen as the first woman nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice of the United States, nominated to the highest court in the land in 1981 by newly elected President Ronald Reagan. She served from 1981 to 2006 and would be unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

O’Connor had previously served as an elected state judge and was later appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals before being confirmed as a United States Supreme Court Justice.

She was a well-respected jurist during her time on the Supreme Court and retired to assist with the care of her husband, who had fallen ill.

These individuals from varying backgrounds have risen to be men and women who have been great contributors to the success of our nation when challenged. They have passed on now, but not before they could make a difference within this great nation of ours, serving in different ways to ensure our nation continues to grow and prosper.