In his poem “The Truly Great,” Stephen Spender ends with these lines:
The names of those who in their lives fought for life,
Who wore at their hearts the fire’s centre.
Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun
And left the vivid air signed with their honour.
Those whom we humans credit as having “left the vivid air signed with their honour” come from all sorts of backgrounds, circumstances, and experiences. Theodore Roosevelt, for example, was born into a wealthy family in Manhattan, lived a privileged youth, and entered Harvard University. Margaret Thatcher, an equally adept politician and Great Britain’s first female prime minister, grew up in a small town in Lincolnshire, England, the daughter of a grocer….