Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Adams, and Excellence

I recently watched the HBO presentation of David McCullough's book John Adams Both in the book, and on the DVD, Mr. McCullogh describes an incident late in John Adam's life. Ralph Waldo Emerson, freshly graduated from Havard, went out to visit the almost 90 year old ex-President. The details of the visit can be found at several web sites:

• John Adams -- BLAZER 159 (12): 2125 -- Am J Psychiatry
• Ralph Waldo Emerson: Philosopher and Poet - Google Books Result
• John Adams - Google Books Result

One of the more memorable comments was when Mr. Emerson asked Mr. Adams to comment on the mood of the times. Mr. Adams remarked, "I would to God there were more ambition in the country," by which he meant, "ambition of that laudable kind, to excel."

Do you think that wish should apply to our times? So much of what we see as ambition to excel is ambition to get rich. Seeing all the executives that are being indited for illegal activities, it is obvious to me that the ambition to excel is not the same as the ambition to be rich. How many of our students wish to excel just for the sake of excellence? What can we do to promote excellence? How do we recognize excellence?

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