Ike embodied democratic values under attack today. His foundation's act dishonors legacy

On Sept. 7, the foundations and centers supporting 13 presidential libraries issued a joint statement calling for civility in America and a recommitment by its citizens to the rule of law and democratic values.

Together, these foundations underscored “the importance of compassion, tolerance, pluralism, and respect for others” and the need to engage in civil dialogue, respect democratic institutions, and uphold safe and secure elections, noting “Civility and respect in civil discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential.”

This is the first time that such a joint statement has been made and includes the presidential libraries of Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

A representative of the Reagan Foundation said the decision to sign on was basically a no-brainer as it represents “everything our center will stand for.”

By now, you might have noticed one name missing from the list of signatories. Yes, the Eisenhower Foundation refused to sign the statement.

The Eisenhower Foundation runs the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Presidential Museum, Boyhood Home, Visitors Center and Place of Meditation in Abilene, Kansas. Whether intentionally ironic or not, it instead issued a comment: “The Eisenhower Foundation has respectfully declined to sign this statement.”

Notably, part of the mission statement of The Eisenhower Foundation is “to honor and champion the relevance today of the life and leadership of Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

In this age of political discord, attacks on election workers, and the spreading of lies about our democratic institutions, often by our own elected leaders, the joint statement is perfectly in line with the current relevance of Dwight Eisenhower.

The eminent historian Curtis Nettels noted two important things Ike got right as president: “Upholding a high standard of honesty and integrity in government" and “dealing with people as individuals on the whole in a human and honorable manner.”

Eisenhower himself recognized that his style could be misinterpreted as passivity.

In 1966, he wrote a letter complaining about critics who, “Equate an individual’s strength of dedication with oratorical bombast; equate determination with public repetition of a catching phrase; equate achievement with the exaggerated use of the vertical pronoun ‘I’ — To them the record means little; manner and method are vital.”

In his first inaugural address, he emphasized what America is all about: “We feel this moral strength because we know that we are not helpless prisoners of history. We are free men. We shall remain free, never to be proven guilty of the one capital offense against freedom, a lack of staunch faith.”

Again and again, Eisenhower stressed cooperation, alliances, and faith in freedom and the American idea. He said once: “We want to live as confident people. And if we are going to live as confident people, we must live as cooperative people.”

In 1968, historians ranked President Eisenhower's performance in the bottom third of all presidents. He was only one spot away from being “below average.” The most recent surveys now place Eisenhower at No. 5 of 44 presidents.

We’ve come to see that Ike was in fact the embodiment of American democratic values that are now under attack from within.

It’s surprising that the Eisenhower Foundation can’t see that as well.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Foundation's act dishonors what Dwight D. Eisenhower stood for