A written description of a prominent American man recently came to this column’s attention. Perhaps readers might be interested in trying to identify this person based on the descriptors alone:
“There was nothing dogmatic or opinionated about him. He courted dissent and was impatient with easy agreement. He wanted to be convinced, not deferred to. Flattery he easily detected, and it annoyed him. He expected his associates to be at all times open and frank in expressing their honest opinions. ‘The only way you can help me,’ he used to say, ‘is to tell me exactly what you think;’ and he was always courteous and good humored, even when he disagreed. He was graceful too, in receding from a strongly taken position on receipt of evidence that he was wrong.
“He was one of the most unassuming, unpretentious, self-effacing men imaginable. When I first suggested to him the possibility of writing a biography about him, he stared at me incredulously. ‘What on earth would you find to write about?’ he exclaimed.
Joseph Filko
“This trait of modesty — even humility — ran through his life like a gleaming thread. Unlike so many … he shunned publicity and when possible, retreated into anonymity. Only under pressure … would he allow his family name to be attached to a project. Except from his own alma mater … he would never accept an honorary degree, although they were frequently offered to him by various colleges and universities. You will perhaps remember the reluctance with which he yielded to your repeated requests to have a portrait of him hung … he was never too happy about it. He was always afraid that somebody might think that he hung it there himself.
“He never wanted credit for anything he did; certainly he never sought it. If there was ever any credit for anybody it belonged to his associates or the people he was working with. Similarly, he was the recipient of scores of citations, scrolls, testimonials and medals. His comment to me on this matter was as follows: ‘Once I allowed myself, on the urging of an organization, to accept one of these things at a public dinner. … But I was so embarrassed by the praise that was showered on me that I vowed that I would never do it again.’ And he never did. Thereafter, if organizations wanted to present him with some testimonial of appreciation, they did it, if at all, in the privacy of his own office or home.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be part of an organization that was led by someone like that? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be a citizen of a country that was being led by someone like that?
Regular readers of this column have probably figured out why I chose to reproduce the above descriptors, if only to present a contrast with what Americans have had to tolerate in recent years from much of the political class at all levels of government to include the White House.
The late Charles Krauthammer once observed that we crossed the Rubicon when we stopped saying, “I think you are wrong,” and started saying, “I think you are evil.” Our political parties accuse each other of “trying to destroy the country,” which is utter nonsense. Obviously, neither party is trying to do that, but Americans are being force-fed that foolishness by high-salaried but irresponsible media figures, reckless politicians and self-serving advocacy groups in order to sustain their viewers, voters, readers and/or donations. They succeed because too many of us seek out what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear.
In George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” the animals who had overthrown the farmer and who were now running the farm themselves were given a propaganda slogan by the ruling pigs: “Four legs good, two legs bad.” Those words describe an inordinate number of media outlets. Watch a lot of MSNBC shows, and you’ll hear positive spin about what the Democrats are doing and the worst possible interpretations of what the Republicans are doing. Tune into a lot of Fox News shows and you’ll hear the best possible interpretations of what President Trump and the Republicans are doing and how awful the actions of the Democrats are. It’s become so hopelessly biased that it’s impossible to become an informed person if everything one tunes into is “four legs good, two legs bad.”
For those who have been unable to identify the person described at the beginning of this column, those words were spoken in an address given in memory of John D. Rockefeller Jr. by Raymond B. Fosdick on June 9, 1960. They were given under the great oak tree at Bassett Hall in Colonial Williamsburg in remembrance and in recognition of the great contributions of Mr. Rockefeller to the restoration that we will be celebrating all next year. 2026 will celebrate 250 years of America and 100 years of Colonial Williamsburg. Huzzah!
Joseph Filko has taught economics and American government and lives in Williamsburg. He can be reached at jfilko1944@gmail.com.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/22/filko-what-is-greatness/
