While I can’t say “I’ve been thinking about Eleanor Roosevelt this week” as anything new, as ER is one of my heroes and I think of her a good bit in general, I’ve been musing about her in relation to blogging this week.
What ER accomplished may be somewhat obscured by time and the general tendencies of media bias, and who she was may not be as well known as (I think) she should be, given those same factors of time and media bias, yet many still look to her as a humanitarian and a leader in her own right.
Among other things, ER initiated and fought for many New Deal programs and social issues well before her husband brought the programs public. ER traveled extensively for government-related work and the public good, resigned from a number of formal positions she held to maintain a degree of decorum amidst the sharp criticism she faced from detractors, and expanded the role of the First Lady. Louis Howe, FDR’s strategist and advisor, wanted ER to run for president, as he thought she could win. After FDR’s death, ER worked tirelessly for the newly-formed United Nations, and is regarded as the driving force behind The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This is not intended to be a biography of ER; volumes have been, and have yet to be, written about her. I merely want to convey that she was busy, she accomplished a great deal, and what many forget is that she unfailingly wrote a nationally-published column six days a week. From 1935 until just before her passing in 1962, ER wrote “My Day”, no matter where she was in the world, or what she was doing. In 27 years of publication, ER missed only four columns, by agreement, in the days immediately following FDR’s death. The last few years of her life, the column went to three days.
The consistency and volume of what ER wrote for “My Day” in itself is amazing. Consider also the topics she covered — ranging from women’s and human rights, Prohibition, The Cold War, The Invasion of Poland and WWII, race issues, and more — and the fact that ER also wrote books and speeches during the same time. ER penned a prodigious amount of writing; writing which has become, chronicled, and influenced history.
I call attention to ER and her writing for three reasons I think bloggers would benefit by considering:
- ER wrote. She did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, with no excuses.
- ER believed that by discussing and taking a stand on often uncomfortable and controversial matters, she could make a difference with her writing.
- ER knew that by touching and influencing even one life for the better, other lives would be so influenced.
Enough said?
____________________
Read select My Day columns:
Used copies of My Day compilations in book form can be found in used book stores.
