Texas History Minute

common ground Mezes played a quieter role than in New York, but Wilson still relied on his advice, support, and diplomatic skills

Dr. Ken Bridges

Woodrow Wilson had been working to end war in Europe since 1914 and redoubled his efforts after America entered the war in 1917 in response to German provocations

Two Texans, Edward House, Wilson’s most trusted advisor and son of a Houston sugar magnate, and Sidney Mezes, the former president of the University of Texas, served in key positions to advise Wilson on the postwar peace before the war ended and at the peace negotiations in France

Mezes and House had studied the issues surrounding the war in Europe as part of a special presidential commission appointed in late 1917 and helped Wilson craft a framework called the Fourteen Points Armed with this plan for this lasting peace, Wilson was confident that the most powerful nations could live free of war in the future Eight of these points included provision for restoring territories to France and Belgium as well as an independent Poland and redrawing the boundaries of Eastern Europe and the Middle East after the Central Powers governing those areas were defeated The remaining dealt with issues of international trade, armaments, and cooperation

At the same time, the American delegation was mindful of the possible problems that could develop with China and Japan

Wilson named 21 diplomats to the American Peace Commission in Paris, including House and Mezes

In his bid to negotiate the peace treaty, Wilson became the first American president to travel overseas during his presidency

When Wilson arrived, he was greeted by more than two million ecstatic French citizens when he rode through Paris in a parade in his honor Though the French were grateful Allies with the United States, their government was determined to rid themselves of future threats from Germany and to punish them for the 1914 invasion Georges Clemenceau, the president of France, was especially resistant to Wilson’s plans “The Almighty gave us Ten Commandments, but Wilson has given us Fourteen ”

Negotiations took place at the old French royal palace of Versailles outside Paris, an ornate, 67,000 square-foot mansion that was once the envy of all European kings House continued his wartime role as an outspoken negotiator with other delegates, running from one delegation to another in an effort to relay Wilson’s wishes and find

While Clemenceau was hesitant about Wilson, he was impressed with House “Colonel House is practical, I can understand him,” he had said

Wilson briefly returned to America in February to find that his political opponents were attempting to sabotage his peace plans, especially American entry into the League of Nations Wilson returned to Paris to negotiate a few details he felt would satisfy his critics before the treaty was signed in June. But the treaty faced a hostile Senate dominated by Republicans A bitter debate on Senate ratification ensued that summer and fall House and other peace delegates spoke in support of the treaty while Wilson campaigned across the country for it

Wilson rebuffed his critics “Some people call me an idealist,” he said “That is how I know I am an American America is the only idealist nation in the world ” In September 1919, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts The strain of the war and the negotiations continued to be a drag on his health Biographers believe that Wilson had already suffered several small strokes that were affecting his judgment before he had a massive stroke in October that left him mostly paralyzed, mute, and incoherent for weeks Physicians of the day could do little for stroke victims, and Wilson never fully recovered

With Wilson still recovering and seeing treaty ratification failing, House jumped in to try to save the treaty As House negotiated with Senate Republicans on a compromise for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, the still frail Wilson grew furious at House’s efforts He considered any effort to water it down further a betrayal Wilson’s rebuke was enough to scuttle the remaining negotiations The two never spoke again

In the end, the United States never signed the treaty nor joined the League of Nations America ultimately signed a separate peace with Germany, and the League drifted without American influence In 1921, historian and fellow delegate Charles Seymour, along with House and Mezes wrote What Really Happened at Paris, an attempt to explain the treaty and the controversies that followed

Mezes retired to California where he died in 1931 House spent most of the 1920s lobbying the Senate to ratify the League of Nations and for the United States to join the League of Nations, both efforts ending in futility In spite of this, he was honored with a statue in a newly independent Poland in 1932 He died in 1938 For all their attempts to keep the world from another cataclysmic war, the major powers of Europe chose not to listen to Wilson or anyone else, and bitterness from the first war steadily hardened World War II started in Europe in 1939

What if it is true?

Life is filled with thoughts and ideas

Many spend their time trying to keep busy because they do not want to think about what God expects from them The strategy is to live in a state of distraction so their conscience will never have the occasion to pause and ponder about the true meaning of life Everyone is unique and that's what makes life interesting but I was thinking the other day about how many are always on the go and never sit still for a moment unless they are forced to stop Somewhere down the line, there will come a time when we will not be able to run or hide behind a distraction On the other hand, there is another group that enjoys the quiet and peace of God's presence and sincerely desires to listen and obey his voice simply because they love him Whichever group you belong to it can be said that we only have one life and one chance to get it right, so whether we choose to live in denial or embrace our spiritual reality, one day truth will be revealed

y Holland

every chance they have These pie in the sky ideas have been floating around since the beginning of time but it’s just another way our human nature tries to influence the conscience to not be concerned with what God wants The Bible is clear about our destiny and the definition of true salvation which includes surrendering our plans and being transformed into a completely different person Sadly, it’s common that most people do not take their spiritual life seriously

“I shall give you THE KEYS of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever YOU forbid to be done on earth, shall have been already forbidden to be done in heaven, and whatever YOU permit to be done on earth shall have already been permitted to be done in heaven ”

Matthew 16:19

I read a sign one time that compared two different philosophies of living and I looked it up the other day to make sure I had the words correct The quote is as follows: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a ride!” Of course, the phrase has been modified through the years but you get the general meaning This declaration has been attributed to a man named Hunter S Thompson and has been widely accepted as an enthusiastic motto to live by For those who live on the edge and experience everything to the absolute maximum, this describes the attitude of a wild and carefree life Instead of a sensitive, and peaceful journey, this philosophy encourages people to drain every drop of excitement, indulgence, thrill, and pleasure they can with

God is not obligated to give us unlimited windows of mercy to embrace his truth but he does so because he is filled with patience and love His intention all along has been for us to love him back but most of the human race simply ignores him The masses are convinced that eternity and this “God thing” is no more than a slight chance of being true and they are perfectly content with rolling the dice It seems that many have come to this conclusion; if God is really filled with mercy, then why should I worry? This is another one of those ideas that makes it easy to accept that it matters not what a person does or does not do because they are covered by that highly popular religious word called grace In this way of thinking they can relax and trust that everything will all work out in the end

For those who are convinced they were given the gift of life to do whatever they want, they are living in a fantasy world We were born to know, worship, and serve God Most people want blessings and heaven but have not really decided to seriously investigate about their purpose or responsibility because they have no interest or intention of accomplishing it I was behind a car the other day that had a bumper sticker which said, “What if it is true?” and it did exactly what it was meant to do; it caused me to think I thought about the gospel of Jesus and prayed that everyone would believe it is true It’s a brand new year and he is inviting everyone to make a brand new start God is waiting to forgive and deliver us but before we can embrace the cross as our ransom, we must humbly acknowledge that we were the reason he had to go there

Samuel Moore-Sobel

George W Bush apparently asked Dick Cheney to be his running mate while munching on a fried chicken leg Or that is at least how Adam McKay, director of the new movie Vice, depicted the moment in which Dick Cheney agrees to join then company ” Cheney responds, while continuing to list off the most impressive titles on his resume

The film depicts Cheney as manipulating Bush into giving away a large chunk of his presidency, in favor of allowing this son of Wyoming to attain the power he so desperately desired

“ There is no question that Cheney is a brilliant bureaucrat, a brilliant operator ” McKay tells Terry Gross at the beginning of an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air. Before mostly spending the remainder of his time on air painting Cheney in a rather negative light “ The biggest thing he did was by going to war, and then in the end, turned out the intelligence was bogus ”

As if Vice President Dick Cheney was the sole reason why the United States invaded Iraq in 2003

This line of argument ignores the fact that the Iraq War Resolution passed the Senate back in October 2002, with the final vote tally clocking in at 77-23 (which included 29 members of the opposing political party) It passed the House, 296-133 Yet the members voting in favor of the measure are not having a movie made about them

This is in no way meant to be a full-throated defense of our 46thVice President He made plenty of ill-fated decisions, ones that had large consequences for our nation Yet I wonder if the eagerness of this film to paint Cheney as a villain obscures reality

Decisions in hindsight are easily questioned New information can provide a shift in perspective

What seems so apparent now – that the Iraq War was ill-fated from the outset – was not necessarily the attitude espoused by many Americans at the time After all, in March 2003, 71% of Americans “supported the decision to use military force in Iraq,” according to Pew Research. This is not to say that invading Iraq was the right decision, mind you; but, to ask to pin the a singular possess sions made onder if he extent he he press if he red him I ildren knew d endure, the ure onal lives udiences all en more than her left mination even tic

Human nature seemingly precludes us from seeing the best in our leaders Typically, Americans are all too eager to indulge in our public servants’ greatest failures We remember President Reagan for Iran Contra, Bush 41 for “Read My Lips ” We remember Vice President Dan Quayle for misspelling “potato” (minus the e) or Al Gore for seemingly taking credit for the invention of the internet We reduce our leaders down to simple caricatures - defining them simply by one misstep. One mistake. One event

I would venture to guess that there is a lot more to Dick Cheney than just his decision to champion an invasion of Iraq Some of those aspects of the man are on display in Vice His love for his wife Lynne His love and affection for his daughters, even when Mary reveals her sexuality (which will inherently affect her father’s political future) His willingness to give up his presidential aspirations to protect his daughter (although, if you read certain accounts, the decision may have involved additional factors) The point being that there are things to admire about Cheney, no matter what political party with which you identify

I won’t take the space to point out the factual inaccuracies in the film - plenty of others have done that already Although it is important to note how easily the line between fact and fiction can blur Moviegoers are being offered a mix of both, as so many of the conversations (i e , between he and his wife) are likely truly unknowable Assuming the truth inherent in this account should be taken with a grain of salt

Obviously, the First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech Adam McKay is free to portray Richard B Cheney in any way he pleases. Yet the question remains. Shouldn’t we do more to reflect the entirety of a person, instead of indulging in a perceived caricature?

Samuel Moore-Sobel is a freelance writer To read more of his work, visit wwwholdingontohopetodaycom