Strenght and Honesty in Many Forms

I really enjoyed the LBJ museum and all of the exhibits that it is composed of. I found that most of the people documented in the museum were known for positive contributions to society. There were the few people and time periods that were known for negative things, such as the man who shot John F Kennedy and the time when slavery was legal, but the majority were upstanding citizens and times of success and progress. When I began looking around the museum, I came across the first exhibit of Lyndon Baines Johnson and his family. I found it fascinating that his grandpa expected “him to be a US Senator before the time he was forty.” Amazing!

Being a first child and a brother to two sisters, I can imagine that LBJ had quite a bit of pressure put on him to perform well in all that he did. I admire that he was able to step and do so, despite the odds he came across.
lady_bird_johnson.jpg" border="0" alt="" />It is also very inspiring to know that he participated in fun things such as being a leader in camp activities at Southwest Texas. I am very involved in leadership camps so it is nice to know that one can spend time doing those kinds of things and still be successful in the long run. From being the Texas State Director of National Growth Administration to a Congressman and Senator to an Officer in the US Naval Reserve, he was about as well rounded as it gets. His lovely wife, Claudia Johnson, most commonly known as Lady Bird, was adorable and very bright as a child.

Growing up, Lady Bird didn’t have as many great opportunities as LBJ did and many other children. She learned most things from her Aunt Effie and did not live her childhood in a typical manner. Many people who have hard childhoods come out of it in very bad shape, whether extremely angry at all of those who hurt them or certain that their lives are not worth living and they have messed up to a degree that is unfixable. She failed to live life that way. Rather, she attended the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in History and Journalism. Once LBJ become involved in politics, she too became very involved in many things, including the Senate Auxiliary Events.




Lady Bird leads me into what I found to be the most interesting and tear-jerking exhibit of the entire museum: John F Kennedy’s assassination.
When you enter the exhibit, a tape begins to play, one of Lady Bird Johnson speaking about Kennedy’s death and the events that led up to it. Listening to the honesty and sadness in her voice pulled at my heart and my eyes swelled up with tears. I admire that Lady Bird was able to be so honest about her feelings and portray those feelings in such a way to others. It takes a strong man, LBJ to step up as President of the United States after such a tragedy, but he could not do this without a strong wife right beside him, supporting him all the way.

After Kennedy was assassinated, Jackie, his wife,
wrote a very heartfelt note to LBJ, thanking him for taking over the position and being such a source of support during the hard times. She also asks that some of Kennedy’s things remain in his office the way he would have liked them to be. Once again, tears filled my eyes as I imagined a widowed Jackie sitting at her desk writing the hardest letter she would ever have to write. Her strength to continue and positive outlook are extremely impressive and honorable.

Overall, many of those depicted serve as positive role models in my mind and I would gladly emulate many of the characteristics they possess. It is through people such as these that our city, our state, our country, and our world can grow and become powerful and united.