by Allen Drury
Let it be established somewhere within the District of Columbia or in the immediate countryside nearby—a number of private estates would undoubtedly be available if the project were seriously proposed.
Let it have a grand entryway, if you like, with statues standing about and fine sentiments inscribed on the walls as you go in.
But inside, let it be alive.
Suppose it to consist of a two-year post-graduate course, its students drawn by competitive examination and interview from all over the country. Suppose the staff to consist of a small administrative group and a constantly changing body of lecturers.
Suppose the lecturers to be drawn partly from universities, perhaps, but in far greater measure from those who really know the science of politics, because they have successfully passed the test; the members of the Senate, the members of the House, members of the President’s Cabinet, other high administrative officials, possibly also members of the Washington press, who both record and at times participate in the processes of free government.
Let the students draw upon these men for lectures, ideas, just plain talk. Let them draw also upon the vast resources that Washington provides for the study of government; the Library of Congress, the Archives, all the various departmental and agency libraries and files.
Further, let the two-year course consist, and perhaps more importantly, of several direct and practical applications.
Let it consist of, say, six months attached to the Executive department or departments of the student’s choice, with the privilege of continuing to attend lectures when convenient. Let it consist of six months attached to the office of a Senator or Congressman on Capitol Hill. Let it consist, either in its first or last six months, depending upon whether the student starts his course in a Congressional election year or an off-year, of six months working in the home district or state of a Congressman or Senator, participating in the everyday drudgery of dealing with constituents, appealing to the electorate, rounding up votes.
Let it, in short, be informative, educative and practical, drawing upon all the wealth of men, material and knowledgeable experience that resides in the city of Washington. Let its students study government and politics at the fountainhead. Let it be truly a National Institute of Government.
A LIVING MEMORIAL
Then there would be one memorial for all the men whom it is now proposed to honor by hunks of lifeless stone all over downtown Washington. Teddy Roosevelt’s family is unhappy about the one they’re proposing to him, Franklin Roosevelt’s family is unhappy about the one they’re proposing to him. Woodrow Wilson’s family is upset and sooner or later the Eisenhowers will be called upon to be unhappy about the one somebody will propose to him.
But, good or bad in design, they will still be cold, lifeless, sterile and unproductive pieces of stone, steel and marble, incapable of contributing to the country one one-thousandth of what could be contributed by a living memorial of governmental experience in which all leaders could be honored and new ones could be constantly trained.
Let us reaffirm our past; let us educate our future. The times are hard, the cold winds of history blow about us. Whether we live or die depends, in some degree it is true, upon our enemies; but the ultimate answer as to which it will be depends upon us.
We must not fail history’s challenge, my friends, for this is a lovely land we have; and it would be a shame indeed to lose it.
“Education for Politics” was presented in 1961 as part of the Animated Magazine, a series of public lectures and discussions at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. We would like to thank the very helpful people at the Archives and Special Collections at Rollins College for their assistance in making this lecture available for publication.
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About the Author
Allen Drury is a master of political fiction, #1 New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner, best known for the landmark novel Advise and Consent. A 1939 graduate of Stanford University, Allen Drury wrote for and became editor of two local California newspapers. While visiting Washington, DC, in 1943 he was hired by the United Press (UPI) and covered the Senate during the latter half of World War II. After the war he wrote for other prominent publications before joining the New York Times' Washington Bureau, where he worked through most of the 1950s. After the success of Advise and Consent, he left journalism to write full time. He published twenty novels and five works of non-fiction, many of them best sellers. WordFire Press will be reissuing the majority of his works.
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