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4.5
To be honest, I hadn't really thought much about George Washington prior to reading this novel. I know--bad (but typical) American, right? But I have found value in reading biographies in the past, and this turned out to be no exception.The novelized, historically grounded yet still fictional format was an interesting (dare one say novel?) twist on the typical biography. The author focuses on one pivotal week in Washington's life while weaving in examples from other parts of his life as supporting evidence for his primary thesis: Washington was great not (just) because of his military leadership skills but because he sought acclaim rather than power. This is a key distinction that I hadn't appreciated before, and I now believe it may have broader application for judging the character and quality of our leaders.Certainly, I can think of many examples of historical figures who claim to seek knowledge, fame, truth, wealth, etc. In Washington's example, however, we have a man who lead an underdog army through a successful revolutionary war against a vastly superior army in terms of numbers, funding, training, etc. As the author points out, throughout the war many powerful contemporaries suggested that Washington take on a leadership role after the war--up to and including proclaiming himself king. Yet Washington, while relishing the approbation of the people, resisted both those calls and the many opportunities he had to seize power. He resigned his commission as general at the end of the war and later refused to run for a third term as president.One fact I found particularly salient about Washington, and which I had previously encountered in other contexts, was his adherence to a set of principles which he had discovered in a book at some point earlier in his life. These were really just one hundred or so simple rules of etiquette and polite behavior that he had committed to memory and regularly employed to guide his behavior. Most of these are anything but profound: don't bite your fingernails, don't turn you back to others while speaking, don’t speak with your mouth full, etc. Yet, taken together, they form a very simple benchmark for minute-by-minute behavior that, followed consistently, would save any modern politician from the social gaffes and blunders that provide us all with such endless entertainment on headline news.Taking a step back, I wonder if Washington's strategy for gracious living tells us something about greatness, overall: is it possible that the path to greatness is to get out of one's own way? To live unwaveringly by a simple, manageable set of guiding principles may be the very thing that distinguishes a great person from the rest of us poor schlubbs who make it all up as we go along. Of course, achieving the level of discipline needed to be guided by such a set of principles is easier said than done--I routinely fail to apply the lessons I have previously learned (the hard way).Interestingly, in Washinton's case, it seems that the need for fame and recognition in the eyes of others may have been the crux of his self-discipline in that he cared more about what others thought of him than about his own comfort. Yet even if that need for approbation is what guided Washinton's behavior, as the narrator points out, does it matter if that behavior had the desired effect? Must right-behavior flow only from right-thinking, or is it possible that the underpinning motivations don't matter so long as the results are the same, it doesn't matter?I believe this is distinct from ends justifying means since, in Washington's case, the means--the daily, minute-by-minute behavior--were just as honorable as the ends he fought for.
