The Self-Interest of Compassion

        Former President Trump did not create the self-interest or isolationism sweeping the Republican party, he merely took advantage and exacerbated it.  Yet his attitude and mannerisms shined and even greater light on those that came before him.  Searching through the spotlights show two figures in particular, highlighting their greatest attribute: their compassion.  These past few months, as I finished law school, two biographies have truly touched my spirit: David L. Roll's George Marshall, and Ron Chernow's Grant.  Extracted from these tomes were two stories from the lives of George Marshall and Ulysses S. Grant that highlighted this unique trait.

        In 1953, George Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  While this was met with some controversy, it is his speech which truly displayed his larger vision for the world, buttressed by compassion.  As Chief of Staff, and later Secretary of Defense and State, Marshall was one of the few who truly influenced a United States victory in World War II.  Marshall was a gifted strategist and organizer, coordinating millions of troops throughout the war and essentially building the army from scratch in the 1930s.  But he is perhaps best known for the European Recovery Program, aka the "Marshall Plan".  This plan was a series of loans and aid programs specifically designed to rebuild Europe and China, while also uniting the former warring nations under a financial umbrella, thereby dissuading further conflict. Marshall rallied the United States to support the rest of the world as we emerged as the first true superpower.
        After the work was done and the nations recovered, Marshall strode to the podium in Sweden and accepted the award dedicated to those who “have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations…”.  In his speech, Marshall pointed to a fundamental advantage the United States had from being an ethnic melting pot.  America was different from Europe, which at that time was less integrated than it is now.  We did not have “people living in the closest contact with each other, yet widely differing in national heritage.” What we had was one America, one people, and all were included in that ideal.  Due to this integration of cultures and different peoples, the US had “a readiness to cooperate which is one of the great and hopeful factors of the world…”.  Because of our background, we could no longer count distant problems as foreign, and thus developed “a feeling and a concern for the problems of other peoples.”
        His actions as a public servant, and his speech to the Nobel Committee shows a deep concern for the world, rather than one country.  While it cannot be ignored that he did what was best for the nation, what was best was to care for others and bring everyone to an equal footing.  Marshall didn’t scorn the new responsibility of the United States, he explained the strength of our conviction to the world came from our “deep urge to help the oppressed and to give aid to those upon whom great and sudden hardship has fallen.”  At his core, his compassion and understanding for others is what led to his work being so effective at bringing the world out of its own destruction.
        General Ulysses S. Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant, is of similar stature and importance to Marshall.  His current reputation is plagued by exaggerated tales of alcoholism and vulgarity, subsuming most of his other qualities and accomplishments.  Grant was a surprisingly compassionate person, with a particular fondness for horses and other animals, even refusing to eat meat that was not burnt to a crisp for sight of blood.  Yet he still led the United States military to put down the rebellious Confederacy, in a war that killed over 600,000 people.  But how did this short, plain, and recently discharged military man come to lead the Union to victory and eventually the Presidency? His compassion for others.  Grant was one of the first, even before President Lincoln, to advocate for not only arming newly freed slaves, but further advising the need to financially and materially support a newly incorporated population.  His understanding of the enemy directly led to victories over the rebels in both the eastern and western fronts.  A graduate of West Point, Grant personally knew nearly all of the officers leading the Confederacy.  At their fateful meeting in the small courthouse in Appomattox, Grant tried to make small talk with General Lee, mentioning their meeting years ago in the Mexican American War, though Lee had no recollection of him.
        Grant employed a lightning-fast campaign across the south, filled with innovations and impressive logistical accomplishments.  But his greatest strength was anticipating the movements and motivations of his adversaries, being “a master of the psychology of war, intuitive about enemy weakness” through his fundamental understanding of others.  These traits were highlighted in his memoirs as he spoke with General Lee at the conclusion of the war:

What General Lee’s feelings were I do not know. As he was a man of much dignity, with an impassible face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come, or felt sad over the result, and was too manly to show it. Whatever his feelings, they were entirely concealed from my observation; but my own feelings, which had been quite jubilant on the receipt of his letter, were sad and depressed. I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought. And one for which there was the least excuse.

        His observations of Lee are even more revealing, given his written thoughts on the institution of slavery.  Even against the defender of enslavement, Grant continued to put himself in the place of Lee, and supplied dignified terms of surrender.  Grant won his battles and the war because he was able to understand his opponents.   He further supported the efforts of Reconstruction and the beginnings or racial justice through his compassion for others who would oppose his position or need his help.  At his funeral, Frederick Douglass made it clear Grant was “a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point.  In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.”
        These two men led their country to victory over foes with a fundamental disagreement with how the country and the world ought to be.  Yet they both worked hard to treat them with compassion, understanding, and grace.  Each took steps to lift their foes out of the mud once the fighting was over.  And the United States was better for their efforts. Compassion is not a weakness, it is an understanding of those around and against you.  Effective problem-solving is intwined with understanding the all the facts.  The psychological effects of the decisions made, and the smoldering resentment that can fester in the defeated are real future costs to any authority.  The morals are beyond debate, taking other’s feelings and mindsets into account are the building blocks of a functioning society.  But what some discount is the real cost of making careless decisions that only work for the victor. As we build our society on the backs of those like Grant and Marshall, we become ever more connected.  No people, no nation, can stand alone anymore.  Our problems are too great, our goals too large, and our people too similar.
        The capitol of the re-United States held two days of parades for the triumphant Union army.  After the festivities were over, Grant and his favorite horse took a sunset ride down Pennsylvania Avenue.  Though the streets were sparingly occupied, one man recognized the General cantering down the street and wrote his mother describing the experience.   After a short, eloquent description, Walt Whitman ended his letter saying "he looks like a good man, and I believe much in looks."

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