Greenleaf on Rodham Clinton

To understand that limitations no longer exist.
Earth could be fair. And you and I must be free
Not to save the world in a glorious crusade
Not to kill ourselves with a nameless gnawing pain
But to practice with all the skill of our being
The art of making possible.

This excerpt from the poem by Nancy Scheibner comes from Hillary Rodham’s speech given at the 1969 Commencement at Wellesley College.

Thanks to Zoe Nicholson for pointing out in a recent comment to a blog on Mike Huckabee that Robert Greenleaf referred to her speech in his first edit of his famous essay “The Servant as Leader”.

Greenleaf included this reference in the first edition because he was trying to reach the students of this period and thought that Rodham’s speech was relevant to the times. The references were removed in later additions, when Greenleaf was trying to reach a larger audience. Rodham of course went on to become Hillary Rodham Clinton, former first lady, and current candidate for U.S. President. For more on the topic refer to page 275 of Don Frick’s biography, Robert K. Greenleaf.

Some of the quotes from the speech that Greenleaf included in his essay included:

“for too long our leaders have used politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible”

“If the experiment in human living doesn't work in this country, in this age, it's not going to work anywhere.”

“But there are some things we feel, feelings that our prevailing, acquisitive, and competitive corporate life, including tragically the universities, is not the way of life for us. We're searching for more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating mode of living.”

Unfortunately I do not have a copy of the first edition of the essay, but Don Frick’s biography indicates that Greenleaf “applauds the spirit [of the speech] but also notes that society does not owe its citizens a “more immediate, ecstatic, and penetrating mode of living. And those who pursue it too narrowly may lose their way. What we may achieve is likely to be something unasked …”.

Thanks again to Zoe for the interesting link between Greenleaf and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Zoe also mentioned that in a recent conversation she had with Greenleaf’s biographer Don Frick that Greenleaf never actually met Hillary, but was only aware of her through her commencement speech.

I wonder if Greenleaf might have seen a bit of the future of the Clintons with his reminder on pursuits that lead us astray. Let us hope that more of our political leaders heed Greenleaf’s reminder.