02/13/11--"William Howard Taft" by Rev. Sharon Dittmar

Sometimes I see the William Howard Taft plaque on the wall of our church and think, "I wish our church produced one of the more exciting presidents."  There have only been four presidents with Unitarian or Universalist credentials--John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, and William Howard Taft.  To my eye, Taft is stuck in a three way tie for least interesting UU president.    However, my eye is not always seeing what it should.  As Sharon's sermons often do, this sermon helped me see things in a different way.

The Taft family has certainly made their mark on Cincinnati history and the history of our church.  William's father, Alphonso Taft, was a member when we were located at our original 4th and Race site.   As an attorney, Alphonso argued that bible readings should not be read in school--surely something that our Unitarian church would have supported.  Their family was always associated with our church and even when he lived in Washington, DC, William Howard Taft still donated money to our church.  He loved Cincinnati and he loved this church.

I loved the little details that Sharon found.  His nickname was "Big Lub."  He returned to Cincinnati soon after his inauguration so that he could participate in the rededication of his alma mater, Woodward High School.  He was considered unambitious because he "only" wanted to serve on the Supreme Court, not to become president.  It was his wife, Nelly, who encouraged his presidential bid and it seems like the job never suited him.  Even his own mother did not picture him as presidential material, saying, "They do not want you as their leader but they cannot find anyone more available."  We've all had the experience where someone has expectations we feel like we need to live up to.  I wonder what Taft actually wanted for himself?  He seemed ambivalent about the presidency. 

One of his weaknesses (and one of my own) is that he didn't like disharmony.  This is not a trait that makes you a very memorable president.  His predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt, seemed to thrive where there was disharmony, and thus he ran against Taft in Taft's second presidential ticket.   The Bull Moose ticket split the vote and threw the election to Wilson.  Taft was a pretty easy target for Roosevelt.  Taft didn't have the fire that his challenger did.  How would history have been different if, perhaps, William had the ambition of Nelly or the ego of Roosevelt?  How would history have been changed if Taft's UU principles were more evident in his work?  It's a lesson to me that I shouldn't take a job where my light can't shine.

His stint as Dean of University of Cincinnati Law School and as Supreme Court Justice were more to his liking.  But that desire for harmony, to get a whole court to agree, was not practical.  His tenure on the court had some low points.  Though he served with the liberal Oliver Wendell Holmes and Brandeis, some of the court's decisions read very conservatively now.  For instance, the Sakko and Vanzetti Case might play out differently if it were judged by a Unitarian Universalist in 2011.

We are the product of our time.  Taft was shielded from the poor and the rebels because of his family's great wealth.  In the same way that I was unable to see, he was, too.  Maybe I can learn to forgive our forbear for what seem like mistakes to me and learn to be proud when I see that plaque.

Go out into the world,
G.