Lyndon B Johnson Political Courage

What is political courage? Is it the act of simply upholding the rights of the everyday man while in a position of power? Or is it something even more? One person is to be chosen every year to be congratulated on their acts of political courage. President Lyndon B Johnson’s chance has now arrived. “The true democracy, living growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people - faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but will also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgement - faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor, and ultimately recognize right”(Kennedy).
As It is

While living in Texas, he experienced the struggles of rural poverty as he grew up, influenced heavily by this exposure and the discrimination of the South, particularly while teaching Mexican-American children in Cotulla. He was a very modest and empathetic man, although these qualities would not help him in his claim to fame. Namely during World War II he served briefly in the Navy as a lieutenant commander, winning a Silver Star in the South Pacific. This led to Johnson’s election into the Senate in 1948. Then in 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history, and the following year, when the Democrats won control, Majority Leader. President Johnson began his new career with a strong and effective domestic program called the Great Society. He was fully aware that he had a grand legacy to live up to following the influential JFK. He strove to constantly remind the nation that he was determined to provide solutions to its many problems at the

Johnson “suffered from a deep-rooted neediness, a desire to be liked by everyone, to outdo his predecessors, and to be known as the best president in American history.” To do so he used deception, charm and persuasion in order to gain support from the mass amounts of people with differing opinions. Achieving political consensus was something Johnson did well, utilizing his term as Senator to sharpen these skills. He always wanted the approval of his advisers and the American public, and he viewed criticisms of his policies as personal attacks which led him to double his resolve and intensify his efforts. A truly tenacious man Johnson’s modest