Roaring 20s, 게으른 쿨리지, 부럽다
영국 철도 버블역사를 보다 보면, 하원위원회와 재계, 그리고 철도 노선에대한 일반인들의 투기열풍에 혀가 차인다
그런데, 불현듯, 이런 생각이 든다.
"나같은 사람은 그때 그시절에도 아마 비판자 역할에 그쳤을 것 같다" 이런 자기반성적 시각에서
또한 불현듯, 가장 행복했던 사람 같은 캘빈 쿨리지 (1923~1929) 대통령, 대공황 바로 직전, 허버트 후버에게 바톤을 넘기기 직전까지 대통령으로서
lasseiz faire, 게으른 보수주의, 등으로
정말 노자의 도덕경을 실천한게 아닌가 싶은 생각, 그리고 그렇기 때문에 더욱 편안하게 본인 시절을 보낸게 아닌가 싶다
그래서 참 부럽다
시대와 유연하게 어울리면서도, 그리고 나서지도 않으면서
그 과실을 함께 누리니
"삐딱한" 비판론 보다는 대충 무난하게 어울려주는
그러면서 하고싶은 말, 행동하고 싶은거의 10% 정도만 가볍게 표현하면서 맞춰주는 삶이 공적 기관에서는 괜챤은게 아닌가 싶다
옳고 그름을 따지는건 아무래도 후수인 것 같다 싶다^^
Calvin Coolidge[1] (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; /ˈkuːlɪdʒ/; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge climbed up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming the 48th governor of Massachusetts. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. The next year, he was elected the 29th vice president of the United States, and he succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative and also as a man who said very little and had a dry sense of humor, receiving the nickname "Silent Cal".[2][3] He chose not to run again in 1928, remarking that ten years as president was (at the time) "longer than any other man has had it – too long!"
Throughout his gubernatorial career, Coolidge ran on the record of fiscal conservatism and strong support for women's suffrage. He held a vague opposition to Prohibition.[4] During his presidency, he restored public confidence in the White House after the many scandals of his predecessor's administration. He signed into law the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which granted US citizenship to the indigenous peoples of the United States, and oversaw a period of rapid and expansive economic growth in the country, known as the "Roaring Twenties", leaving office with considerable popularity.[5] He was known for his hands-off approach to governing and for his pro-business stances. As a Coolidge biographer wrote: "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength."[6]
Scholars have ranked Coolidge in the lower half of U.S presidents. He gains almost universal praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the United States,[7] and is heavily praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics, while supporters of an active central government generally view him far less favorably. His critics argue that he failed to use the country's economic boom to help struggling farmers and workers in other flailing industries.[8] There is also still much debate between historians as to the extent Coolidge's economic policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression. However, it is widely accepted, including by his own Presidential Foundation, that the Federal Reserve System under his administration was partly responsible for the stock market crash of 1929 that occurred soon after he left office, which signaled the beginning of the Depression.[9]
|
Contents
|