As Seen on Facebook.

As is popular these days, an acquaintance on Facebook posted one of those cute pictures that reflect some inspiring or endearing sentiment, or solicits you to share some thought so some great fortune is bestowed on someone.  As I skimmed along reading the various entries, I found I kept coming back to this particular one.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

As I’ve noted on previous Blog posts, I was born and raised near the homes of the Roosevelt’s and Mrs. Roosevelt was still recognized as an influence until her passing in 1962; when I was eleven.  I used to regularly ride past her home Val‑Kill Cottage, but I don’t believe I was ever fortunate enough to see her.  I think of her as a great lady who was born to into a world of immense wealth and privilege, committed herself to the future President and stayed with him through all the trials of life, enduring even his infidelities.  During the Second World War she was indeed his eyes and ears -- traveling across the nation, to a significant number of foreign countries, and even to the Pacific war zone.  I think she set the standard by which modern First Ladies are measured.

So back to the quote!  I like the sense of it, but I wonder its purpose?  Quotes are interesting; they pop up and live long beyond their authors, and lose the context that truly gives them meaning.  They remain, floating out in the vast world wide web, waiting for some lessor mind to pull them up and use for their own purpose.  For example, I wonder if Mrs. Roosevelt spoke these words as she participated in the creation of the United Nations?  In discussing an organization whose charter would be “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…” This organization, that now sits on the banks of the East River in New York, and serves as a place where voting blocks seem to be the fashion of the day, and the veto within the Security Council really reflects the exercise of power.  The UN is used now as more of a shield for action or inaction, a place where democracy is condemned and tyranny protected, than a place where great minds discuss great ideas.

Perhaps she spoke these words while traveling around the nation, during the great depression, speaking on behalf of the President, offering hope and inspiration for a nation and a world struggling with massive unemployment and an economy that would not recover, perhaps because of government interference.

Was it used in defense of her husband, when political rivals and those who argued for a one, two, or three term President, voiced rumors and challenges to his Presidency?

Or could it have been offered during an acceptance speech for one of the many honorary awards and degrees she received?  I can see her standing there talking to the assembled students at Russell Sage College extoling them to open their minds to new ideas, to fresh concepts to move toward a better society where all men are equal, and poverty doesn’t exist. 

For me, I would like to think this quote is meant to inspire young minds to be open to debate and discussion of great ideas.  Something I think we are woefully short on these days.  We now must think and communicate in sound bites and snippets of thought, never letting whole ideas we find discomforting float around and balance within a larger context. I think great minds have always been hard to find.