Herbert Clark Hoover, former President and nemesis of James Jeremiah SimpkinsIn the Simpkins gene pool, there must be a specific gene for ranting, especially for political diatribes. Some of my earliest memories are of my grandad sitting in a green chair, smoking his Pell Mells and ranting about the imbeciles who were in charge of nearly everything. But he had a particular disdain for one Herbert Hoover, his favorite punching bag and the person he held personally responsible for everything sorry and bad in his life. To my mom's horror, he always peppered his rants with some salty language, carrying on about what he'd do to this man if he ever got his hands on him. I actually thought this Hoover guy was a neighbor or someone who might show up at the door where Grandad would settle his score once and for all. That's how real and personal politics could get in our household.
In 1956, when I was just 9 years old, I participated in my first political protest, spurred on, I'm sure, by what I heard at home and responding to the call to arms. Lois and I went to the train station, carrying Adlai Stevenson signs, to protest Richard Nixon's whistle-stop appearance in Athens when he was running as Eisenhower's vice president. Young "tricky Dick" stepped onto the platform at the end of the train, and we waved out opposition signs as hard as we could, chanting something I've long forgotten.
But I never forgot Herbert Hoover, so I did a little research.and found how why he was so despised. Grandad held him in contempt for a lot of valid reasons: First, the Depression began during the first year of his presidency, and Hoover believed in something called the "efficiency movement," which held that there were technical solutions to all social and economic problems. Right there you know that he had a snowball's chance in hell of leading this country out of the Great Depression. I think that was pretty much the death knell for the efficiency movement. And it didn't help that prohibition was not exactly popular with a lot of folks, especially someone like my grandad who had, well.... let's say a kissing cousin relationship with moonshine whiskey. Add to that the fact that on a charisma scale, Herbert had about as much charm as a jar of paste, and you can begin to understand why neither my grandad nor history treated him well.
The ranting gene was passed directly to Peck who could go on a diatribe about pretty much anything at the drop of a hat, and nobody in the family now can rant and rave like my brother Don. I shudder to think about the collision of Grandad's socialist politics with Don's radical conservative ones. And I'm doing my best to keep the family tradition alive, leaning way left of center, tinged just a bit "pinko" like my grandad.
9 comments:
Poor charmless Herbert Hoover was much maligned, erroneously! The latest economic thinking at the time was Keynesian. Keynes said that at the federal level in bad times you run deficits and in good times you run surpluses, and those are the policies Hoover implemented. Part of his deficit spending plan were public works projects such as the Hoover Dam which put a lot of people to work! Also during Hoover's administration, the fairly new Federal Reserve had restricted the money supply causing the Depression -- so that Hoover actually inherited this problem.
On the other hand, Roosevelt later ran his election campaign on a dead-broke country, referring to Hoover's deficit spending. Roosevelt cut out the deficit spending and balanced the budget in 1936, thus prolonging the depression (which didn't end until we got involved in WWII).
There was a feeling during this time that socialism was the way to go because Uncle Joe Stalin was selling grain out of Russia which meant that his collectivism policies were working. In reality, he was starving all the farmers to death (who naturally hated him). I guess Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and Alger Hiss hadn't talked to the farmers. ;)
I sure wish I had been in the family then. Grandad and I could've had a high old time! :)
Okay, curmudgeon, reveal yourself! This is a very valid response to my early brainwashing. Is this why so many Democrats turned to Ronald Reagan, whose trickle-down economics seduced so many of them? He was no friend of the people either. And he and Bush are on my hit list!
Weighing in again, I must say that George W. is running huge deficits in bad times, and I can't see that it's working. Is he a fellow Keynesian? Just trying to see the other side before I go settle my score with him. ;)
George W. is the worst president we've ever had, and any deficit spending he's doing is not be design to help the country but because he's trigger happy! Herbert Hoover would turn over in his grave at the hint of a comparison...as for Reagan, I always thought he was a little corny. ;/
Our current problem is that our govt. rewards indolence and punishes industry. That is known as the Post Theory of Social Economics. ;/
And who am I to argue with the Post Theory of Economics. I will read more about Hoover and see if I can't find a soft spot for him. Thanks for the education.
I didn't have to go far to find something to admire. His Quaker faith led him to want to serve others, which he did. Go Herbert!
Did I find a man who fit into the Simpkins tradition of political/economic diatribes or what? ;) He says he sure misses his great conversations with Peck!!
DOWN WITH HOOVER!
Ahhh. The tradition LIVES ON!!! :)
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