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| Official portrait of President Truman by Greta Kempton, 1947. Click to enlarge. |
I am so disgusted with all that is going on in our country and in the rest of the world now that I can't stomach the news anymore. A couple times a week, I run my eye down the headlines on the news feed, ditto the headlines on Joe.My.God., but I don't want the details. I see the abyss opening wide ahead of us, and I can't bear to think of what may come. Of course, I have no crystal ball, and things may yet get better instead of worse; but having a long view of human history, and knowing how mighty states have often fallen from greatness into ruin -- well, it's best not to fill my waking hours with dread of things I cannot control.
I find comfort in my faith, and in revisiting the brighter spots in history. Harry Truman was one of them, and I offer this video summary of his life in the Oval Office as a reminder of what a president can and should be. His small-town upbringing was the source of his virtues as well as his shortcomings; but by God, he had the right stuff, never waivering in his faith in American democracy and his respect for the inherent worth of the common people. That was a real man, a strong man, and a good man. One of the greats.
If you find this video refreshing, I heartily recommend the definitive biography, entitled Truman, by the late historian David McCullough. There is an audiobook version on YouTube (slow the speed down to about 75%) that makes for fascinating listening - though you can start in the middle, if you like, with Truman's sudden elevation to the presidency on the death of FDR in April, 1945, a few weeks before Germany surrendered. The job just got rougher and tougher from there on out, but Truman plowed right on, true to his lights, keeping the country and the world on course for peace and prosperity, doing an astoundingly fine job that would have broken many a lesser man. That's why ever since he left office in January 1953, he has consistently been ranked in the top ten of American presidents.
The video opens with Truman thanking his hometown neighbors for the rapturous welcome they gave him when he returned to Independence, Missouri, after leaving the White House for the last time. Enjoy.
On a personal note, it's odd to realize I am older now than FDR was when he died, and older than Truman was when he left office.
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