Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation – Joseph Ellis
Posted by Orrin Woodward on March 7, 2009
Today’s blog post will highlight an era in America’s history that looms larger every day. I believe, more than ever before, that American’s must remember there founding history. So many people will dismiss the founding documents as mere scraps of paper and irrelevant for today’s problems. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. Principles stand the test of time and the Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, and The U.S. Constitution are all full of principles from thousands of years of governing principles. Why is our culture so elitist minded that we act like nothing learned from the 18th century could have any bearing on our decisions today? Everyone in America can see the lack of leaders being developed in a country of nearly 300 million. Where are the leaders with the qualities of our Founders? We must read the Founders to see our culture’s personality based leadership style in contrast to the character based leadership of our Founders. Does this mean the Founders always lived up to their ideals? No, but at least they had ideals to call someone a hypocrite when they didn’t live up to their professed principles. Our modern culture has lost the ability for self examination, but no great character based leadership is possible without it!
I recommend everyone to read the The Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis. If you have never read anything on the Founders, this will be a great place to start. This was the first book that I read from Mr. Ellis and he is now one of my favorite authors on the Founders. Maybe it is time for you to start your journey through the founding history of the U.S. History matters! I love living my life based upon principles and not just the latest techniques. I don’t fulfill my principles everyday and when I don’t, I examine where I went wrong to improve the next time. I love reading books to learn the underlying principles that our greatest men and women applied to their lives. What do your read and why do you read it? Learn from experience, preferably someone else’s. Does virtuous behavior matter to you? It certainly did for the Founders. Is your leadership style more like George Washington or Aaron Burr? Please share your thoughts on Joseph Ellis’s book or share your thoughts on why the America’s Founders matter today. God Bless, Orrin Woodward
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Peter Schiff in 2006 « Orrin Woodward Life Leadership Team said
[…] Schiff is one of the best commentators on Austrian Economics, Political Liberties, and our Founding Fathers in America today. In 2006, Peter debated the bulls at a mortgage broker […]