Henry Ford once said that a business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. Ford created the Model T, a car that revolutionized the way we traveled before there were decent roads to drive on.
Because the Tin Lizzie was affordable and practical, Ford had the vision to invent the assembly line.
The assembly line worked so well, he started dealerships. For a small investment, a person who agreed to sell only Fords would get first crack at the newest Ford products, Ford support and Ford guarantees.
Ford doubled normal wages of the time, which meant he attracted and kept devoted employees. He shortened the work week to 40 hours, which boosted worker productivity.
Henry Ford made a lot of families secure and many people very rich.
Then one day, he bought a newspaper, the Dearborn Independent.
Henry Ford was a brilliant engineer, savvy businessman and a pacifist. He was also a vicious anti-Semite who didn’t hesitate to tell the world that sinister, self-serving, disruptive Jews were the reason for war, wealth inequity and the Black Sox scandal.
Adolph Hitler had a framed picture of Henry Ford on his desk.
When Ford was finally sued for libel and forced to close his newspaper, he claimed he never read it anyway.
So. Is Ford to be admired for his talent and energy and bringing prosperity to millions of people, or condemned as a racist pig whose influence allowed the West to turn a blind eye to the extermination of millions of people?
It feels like we’re still in that head space. For the past three months, our letters to the editor have been railing about not shaking hands, not wearing masks, keeping our distance and watching our vitals.
This week, the letters are about violence and white bad boy cops.
The dilemma is, are any of us worth the air we breathe? Even those who feed the hungry and shelter the dogs and eat lentils have emotions to rein in, right? Isn’t that what being on earth is for? Isn’t what we strive for a blend of being functional and practical? Love might be an energy that’s way more burly than the wind, but unless we spend enough time with it to understand its purpose, power and effect, we’re not going to graduate.
None of us has to be angry at anyone unless we want to be.
That is so hard to do.
For instance, in the summer of 1927, a Detroit and Ironton freight train sped through Washington Courthouse, Ohio, and killed a farmer and his son on their way to market with a truckload of cattle. The town lawyer went to the widow and said she had a sure case against the railroad, and she wouldn’t have to worry about being left penniless.
Except the railroad was owned by Henry Ford, who sent two polished lawyers down to southern Ohio to turn the blame around. Henry Ford walked off with the widow’s farm.
The widow and Henry Ford’s mother were both from County Cork, Ireland, and Henry Ford hated farms. Still, it happened.
The widow was my grandma, I have a picture of her feeding the chickens in 1915 taped to my computer right in front of me, right now. I still won’t own a Ford.
But get this – grandma and Hitler were born on exactly the same day, April 20, 1886, the day the Crescent Hotel opened.
We can get over anything we encounter in this life. Racism shouldn’t even be a thing.
But Fords?