One of President Trump's most volatile characteristics can also be one of his most endearing. While I'm reluctant to speak with certainty about eras before my lived experience, I can say that in my lifetime there has never been a political enigma like The Donald.
Politicians don't talk like he talks. They don't attack their enemies like he attacks his enemies. They don't pressure the status quo like he pressures the status quo. And not since at least Franklin Roosevelt has a president been so comfortable governing by spitball - that is, throwing some idea or policy against the wall hoping it will stick, and if it doesn't, just regroup and try something else.
On one hand, you have ideas like President Trump's long-held belief that taxes on incoming, foreign goods (tariffs) will have a positive impact on our nation's economy. I've always thought it was a bad idea and it seems to be having (predictably) bad consequences. I expect he will soon have to abandon it.
But on the other hand, sometimes he has ideas that are spectacular. And this is one of them:
The Trump administration announced this week an opportunity for American artists to create sculptures of historical figures like George Washington, Patrick Henry, Davy Crockett, and other American heroes in celebration of the nation's 250th birthday.
The National Endowment for the Humanities announced on Thursday that it would be handing out grants for artists to sculpt one of the 250 American historical figures identified by the Trump administration for placement in a new National Garden of American Heroes.
When it comes to the abuse of tax dollars, the National Endowment for the Humanities has had few equals in recent decades. This is the entity that spent millions in recent years to, "explore the fascinating, often-contradictory origins and influences of popular romance as told in novels, films, comics, advice books, songs and Internet fan fiction." What in the world?
To use that very agency to begin undermining and undoing so much of the destructive, anti-American societal influences of the last several years is a master stroke. DOGE has cancelled many of the humanities grants that this organization was spending frivolously, and now some of that savings will be spent to promote the spirit of Americanism.
Call that gamesmanship. Say it's Trump sticking a finger in the eye of Black Lives Matter cultural revolutionaries. Whatever his motivation, a National Garden of American Heroes is such a worthy effort, provided it can remain nonpolitical and true to history.
So far, names like George Washington, Davy Crockett, Neil Armstrong, Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass, Sacagawea, and Alvin York have all been promoted as leading candidates for inclusion. All of them are people who embody the spirit of Americanism - the very spirit that has been slandered by race-baiters and gender radicals for the better part of two decades.
As a high school history teacher, I've found myself often reflecting on the words of one of my predecessors who wrote in 1938:
The greatest need of America, on the threshold of the greatest epoch of its history, is citizens who understand the past out of which the nation has grown. … Let us look into the souls of the leaders and the common people who have made America great.
This Trump idea allows us to do just that.
While there's some matter of debate about whether this Garden of National Heroes should be focused solely on celebrities and icons rather than "common people," I'd simply point out that truthfully, the real history of America is a nation of common people who become icons by doing courageous, monumental things.
That's a story worth celebrating, and Trump deserves immense credit for championing it.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Not the Bee or any of its affiliates.
