Teddy Roosevelt, Heroes, Villains and Demons

Teddy Roosevelt was one of the more interesting of our past presidents. A friend on social media recently posted a short video suggesting that he was insane. From his beginnings as a sickly, asthmatic child, he certainly endured many hardships and tragedies and had many adventures.

Back in October of 2002, Glenn Reynolds posted an excerpt from a speech Roosevelt gave about the Nobel prize he received, largely for facilitating an end to war between Japan and Russia. The prize was controversial. Roosevelt was not in Norway for the acceptance speech.

The Instapundit summary has some interesting details but the link to the speech has gone bad. I found another one. This speech was also given in Norway, but in person by Roosevelt.

Presidents don't talk like this anymore:

We must ever bear in mind that the great end in view is righteousness, justice as between man and man, nation and nation, the chance to lead our lives on a somewhat higher level, with a broader spirit of brotherly goodwill one for another.

Peace is generally good in itself, but it is never the highest good unless it comes as the handmaid of righteousness; and it becomes a very evil thing if it serves merely as a mask for cowardice and sloth, or as an instrument to further the ends of despotism or anarchy.

We despise and abhor the bully, the brawler, the oppressor, whether in private or public life, but we despise no less the coward and the voluptuary. No man is worth calling a man who will not fight rather than submit to infamy or see those that are dear to him suffer wrong. No nation deserves to exist if it permits itself to lose the stern and virile virtues; and this without regard to whether the loss is due to the growth of a heartless and all-absorbing commercialism, to prolonged indulgence in luxury and soft, effortless ease, or to the deification of a warped and twisted sentimentality.

Moreover, and above all, let us remember that words count only when they give expression to deeds, or are to be translated into them. The leaders of the Red Terror2 prattled of peace while they steeped their hands in the blood of the innocent; and many a tyrant has called it peace when he has scourged honest protest into silence. Our words must be judged by our deeds; and in striving for a lofty ideal we must use practical methods; and if we cannot attain all at one leap, we must advance towards it step by step, reasonably content so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction.

Nicely free from utopianism, I think. Insane?

Heroes, Villains and Demons

Some people think of Teddy Roosevelt as a hero. Some think of him as a militaristic villain. And we have just been through the Halloween season of demons, echoing last week's discussion of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters, which discusses the ways demons can encourage people and even nations to take enticing, but stupid, paths.

Following, some updates:

Last week we discussed how Marxism led to a repressive form of feminism in Russia, leading to a backlash when Putin appeared on his horse, baring his chest, appearing to be a competent man. The early adoption of abortion as birth control became restrictions on abortion as the government desire for more children increased.

And this week, Stephen Green:

SAD, BUT HARDLY UNIQUE TO RUSSIA — PUTIN’S STUPID WAR JUST SPED THINGS UP: After the Purges and the Wars: Why Russia Keeps Running Out of Tomorrow. “Slogans can’t hide the hard truth: Too many people have died, too many women have left, and too few believe the future is worth having children for.”

From our own feminist wars:

If you want to have your mind blown, this character was written as someone for the viewer to hate.

Yet literally everything she predicts has come to pass. pic.twitter.com/F86aSNnuyt

— Konstantin Kisin (@KonstantinKisin) October 31, 2025

From our own comments last week:

261 Lewis helped me remake myself. My fav is The Inner Ring:

"Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things."

I'm expect most of you, being so Good and Wise have read it. Like Chesterton's Fence, it's a must read. But it was so influential in making me a better person that I feel obligated to link to it, just in case someone missed it.

https://tinyurl.com/msj6ydjz

Posted by Fen

Lewis discusses the perils of being associated with demons. Meaty stuff about the "inner ring" later.

Thanks KT… the reference to CS Lewis and exquisitely tailored suits reminds me of his book That Hideous Strength… in that book the evil doers were part of the ultimate bureaucracy N.I.C.E. which is populated with polite nicely tailored bureaucrats… but demons are behind the whole enterprise

Posted by LinusVanPelt

Artificial Intelligence coming up . . . Demonic?

Weekend

The Week In Pictures: Trick or Treat Edition

Lots going on this Halloween week, but hands down the number one story in the world of memes is the trick that Zohran Mamdani is about to play on New York City. Suffice it to say that memesters are not happy about it. Nor are they happy about the continuing Schumer Shutdown, while at the same time they seem to have mixed feelings about the impending loss of food stamps by 8% of the American population. And President Trump’s renovation of the East Wing is still prompting some meme amusement.

Music

Morning after Halloween in Norway?

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, October 25, Costumes and Symbols of "The Baddies"

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 11:09 AM

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