Friday, December 13, 2013

How Important is Attitude?


It is arguable that more has been written about FDR's personality than his actual policies. Also, his life experiences overcoming adversity in many ways made him an ideal leader (even if many of his constituents did not know he could not walk!). What are some key examples of FDR's optimism that stood out to you in the reading, and why? Is optimism FDR's greatest policy?

14 comments:

  1. In the article I felt that it talked more about FDR’s personality than his actual policies. At one point in the article it says, "Roosevelt's success as a president would have been inconceivable without the extraordinary self-confidence that he felt and projected". He uses his knowledge and past experiences to drive his self-confidence, which is what made him a great leader. FDR seemed to be optimistic a lot, for example at one point in the article he says, "If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

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  2. Well I believe that he went through a lot, trying to keep a image of a powerful person. Many people thought that someone in a wheelchair is not powerful. But he proved them all wrong after dealing with polio at a late age then normal. This put him in a chair and that did not stop him from becoming president. But back then many people did not know this but it is possible that if they did, then they would make a big deal so he never took pictures in a chair always standing behind a podium.

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  3. FIrst of all, FDR had something good in his personality and it was that he was very modest and did not think he was going to change the world as many presidents before him did. Also, he really had a passion and it was becoming the president of the US not as other men that had other purposes than that such as money or other.
    He had a really good temperament and he was an experimenter as he said "It is common sense to take a method and try it... If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something"... that means that he really wanted to try things till getting the right solution for the nation in that time.
    Also, he was very optimist because even though he struggled with his disease, he always kept it up and he was always trying to hide it from people so that people did not feel painful for him and he considered himself the same as everyone else, with the same privileges and rights. He was always trying to create a positive atmosphere as while fighting his disease he always tried to make children smile at the hospital etc.
    He kept saying that he was going to do his best to get the country out of the crisis and he always said the truth even though it was a fail or something , he did never hide anything to Americans and he used another media to spread everything out quicker and so that it could arrive to more people.
    That is basically the way that FDR took to bring the people's morale up and spread optimism all over the nation.

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  4. I agree with the idea that there was more about his personality than his actual policies. His attitude and public speaking abilities is what made his presidency as successful as it was. This still stands true today. Many people claimed that the reason why Obama won over Romney in this past election is because Obama spoke better. Whether that is true or not, FDR definitely had the ability to project extraordinary self confidence even through his disabilities. As Chandler said, it was widely thought that someone who was in a wheelchair wouldn't have the self confidence and drive to really have a presence. What i think really made him a great leader was his past experiences and knowledge rather than his actual leading as a president.

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  5. I think attitude is very important. One reason I think this is because people judge you based on your attitude and it shows what type of person you are. If you are positive all of the time then people will like to be around you and listen to what you have to say but if you are negative all the time no one will want to talk to you. This article mostly talks about FDRs personality and not really his policies. One life experience that he had was having polio and being in a wheelchair because he could not walk from polio. This was something that changed his life, but his attitude did not get affected by this. He stayed strong and fought through everything and that showed how strong of a person he was and how he never gave up no matter what. I do think that optimism is his best quality. I think this because if he wasn't optimistic then the country would not have a lot of faith in him. I also think that optimism is his best quality because being optimistic is a good trait to have because it shows that you look at things from a better angle than pessimistic people.

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  6. Throughout the reading there are immense comments on the prestige of Roosevelt's character. "Roosevelt's success as a president would have been inconceivable without the extraordinary self-confidence that he felt and projected". along with other gracious comments. but Roosevelt's presidency wasn't the longest for no reason he led the country out of the depression and lead them valiantly through world war two until his last days. roosevelt did everything a president should and more he produced results in good fashion with optimism for the future. which is why he is remembered as one if the greatest presidents.

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  7. I agree with tina that attitude is very important, and FDRs attitude was almost always positive. The fact that he spoke so positively about everything and looked forward towards a bright future made others do it as well. His aittude was so positive that people compared meeting him to openenign a bottl eof champagne. he launched balloons at conferneces, nothing makes people happier than ballons. i think the overall fact that he was always positive yet people neever knew he was sick or injured showed a great leadsrship for him.

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  8. I believe that Roosevelt's attitude was amazing, he was an injured man. He had fought through and illness that left him almost without the ability to walk. But even after this he fought, he fought to not only be able to fight through his disease and eventually be able to walk somewhat by himself but he fought in order to be able to lead a new country. A country that like himself, had won great battles and had fought to gain its independence, a country with possibility that was caught short by the depression. Personally, I believe that Roosevelt's struggles made him into the leader that he was, it was almost as if his life story was parallel to the struggles of the USA. It was those struggles that made him into the leader he was, charismatic, sympathetic and hopeful. Although he made many contributions to America, his biggest one was a sense of hope to a nation that was on its knees and needed something to cling onto.

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  9. As the reading explained, unlike so many other Presidents before him, Roosevelt did not come into office with any special qualifications. He just very much liked to have the job! "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." I'd like to argue that his whole presidency was more of an experiment than it was a career. He used his struggle with polio, which he combated with pure optimism, to help the nation through the Great Depression and WWII.

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  10. What really stood out to me is how FDR made himself the leader of the Warm Springs community. Despite the fact that he was going through the same struggles as all of the other polio patients, he was able to create a positive atmosphere in the community. This would translate later on into FDR's successes in the oval office.

    Just as the patients at Warm Springs suffered from Polio, the United States suffered from the Great Depression and World War II. Luckily, just as the people of Warm Springs had FDR to console them, we had FDR to give us hope and optimism in such trying times. And as we saw in earlier readings, the intangible could be just as powerful to help the economy as the tangible; the confidence and optimism that FDR raised was equally important to the New Deal Policies. Therefore, optimism was his greatest policy because it was what inspired the country to get through two disasters: the Depression and the War.

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  11. You know what I liked FDR? Is that, in the article, I felt he was just like one of my gracious grandfather who never tells a lie and give us confidence on anything that is depressing. He wasn't a super smart guy or a person who would insist that what he did was right. Instead, he said "it is common sense to take a method and try it". My first impression was, yes it is common sense but not for the president to do with a nation. In my opinion, president's decision is always analyzed by specialist and it's always has its reasons. For FDR, he was just the representative for most of the American people. I think what he said "If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something" is the most optimism example.

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  12. I agree that there is more focus on FDR's personality rather than his actual policies. For example in the reading from yesterday the preacher who supported him stopped simply because he wasn't granted access into the white house.
    His optimism is commendable and should be a given for a president. The president is a symbol for the country. Someone/something the citizens can look to for guidance in times of not only struggle but triumph as well. He had such a commendable can do attitude that made everyone love and follow him. He really was like a father to the country.

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  13. FDR was a very optimistic person even thought his conditions were worst towards him. Not only was he injured so that half of his body couldn't function but also he did not give up on his life, making him self the leader of the country. In a time of crisis, when everyone paniced, FDR always stood on the side of optimism giving hope and consoling people around him. The fact that FDR made him self the leader of the Warm Springs exemplifies the point. In addition, his optimism is also apparent in his speeches. In the time of crisis, where everyone is so scared and worried, FDR consoled them by saying "we have nothing to fear but fear itself, nameless, unreasonable fear..." in his inaugural address

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  14. Roosevelt's personality definitely helped him lead the country. He was modest, and an energetic, optimistic person despite the troubles that he had to go through. I agree that more has been written about Roosevelt's personality rather than the policies he made. During the time of the depression, people need someone that was optimistic and believed that the country could prosper again. Without FDR's great personality, many of the people of the United States wouldn't have been as willing. I think it was great how he made himself leader of the Warm Springs community, and even though he too suffered from polio, he kept a positive attitude.

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