Roosevelt Island: Confrontational Reading

I rarely ever carry my camera with me, especially on long runs and hikes (too much looking through the lens instead of at what's in front of it), but I wish I had brought it along on my run this morning. On my trek over the river, I spent some time at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial on the island. Flanking the central statue of Roosevelt himself are four giant stone panels with some of his most memorable words. A nice little hidden inspirational place. Below is an image of one of the panels. I have reproduced the text of the others below. I was so struck by the timeliness of Teddy's proverbs. Hardly anyone seems to favor 'righteousness over peace' anymore. Conservation, both in respect to natural resources and intellectual and cultural heritage, continues to have a reputation as a static, rather than dynamic activity. And the world, in various regions, seems unduly obsessed with 'order without liberty' and promoting 'liberty without order.' I just love how the bold and chiseled words confront and challenge the viewer so directly (each panel is probably taller than 20'). I think public sculpture plays a surprisingly important role in nurturing contemplation, especially when books are increasingly being sold and consumed as entertainment.

MANHOOD

A man's usefulness

depends upon his living up to

HIS IDEALS

in so far as he can

It is hard to fail but it is worse 

never to have tried to succeed

ALL DARING & COURAGE

All iron endurance or misfortune 

make for a finer & nobler type of

MANHOOD

Only those are fit to live

who do not fear to die

and none are fit to die

who have shrunk from the 

JOY OF LIFE

and the

DUTY OF LIFE

THE STATE

Ours is a government 

of liberty

by-through-and under the law

...

A GREAT DEMOCRACY

has got to be progressive or it will 

soon cease to be great or a democracy

Order without liberty 

and liberty without order

are equally destructive

In popular government results worth having

can be achieved only by men who combine

WORTHY IDEALS

with practical good sense

If I must choose between 

righteousness and peace

I CHOOSE RIGHTEOUSNESS

NATURE

There is delight in the

hardy life of the open

There are no words that can

tell the HIDDEN SPIRIT of the

wilderness-that can reveal

its mystery-its melancholy

and its charm

The nation behaves well if it treats the

NATURAL RESOURCES

as assets which it must turn over to 

THE NEXT GENERATION

increased and not impaired in value

CONSERVATION

means development

as much as it does

PROTECTION

YOUTH

I want to see you game boys:

I want to see you brave and manly and also want to see

you gentle and tender

Be practical as well as 

generous in your ideals

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE STARS

But remember to keep your

feet on the ground

COURAGE - HARD WORK

-SELF MASTERY-

AND INTELLIGENT EFFORT

are all essential to successful life

Alike of THE NATION and the 

INDIVIDUAL

The one indispensable 

requisite is

CHARACTER