Harry & Bess Truman (Google download)
This morning my email inbox featured a rather interesting message from a friend in America; it's one of those messages that is doing the rounds right now because of the political situation in the US, the people's less than happy frame of mind toward their governing "fathers and mothers", so to speak...
A lot has changed since Harry Truman's days; I'm afraid in many respects not all for the good of either The People or The Country itself. However, this is not an exercise in bashing anybody or becoming involved in political bantering; nor is it meant to take political sides ~ I don't DO politics! The post serves mainly as a reminder that there ARE people out there with moral integrity and who believe that being President and running a country has to be for the Good of the People... Our problem lies in that it appears to be diffult to find those people and let them lead us without being led astray!
The young ones among you won't remember Truman, except perhaps from history books; however, his moral attitude, were it adopted by the leaders in today's world, would be one that could truly change the face of politics worldwide and not only in the USA.
Read on, and find out for yourself what I'm talking about...
And thank you, Cecil, for passing this on to us... it's definitely food for thought!
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Thought you'd enjoy this!
It's one you want your Children and Grandchildren to read.
They won't believe this happened, but it DID.
Harry & Bess
(This seems unreal.)
Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.
The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and, other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.
When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.
After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale."
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."
As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.
Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale (cf. Illinois ).
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!"
I say dig him up and clone him!
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Feel free to pass this note on to your friends; they might appreciate it...
Smiles,
Emm :))
Independence Missouri, Home of President Harry Truman, now a national historic site (Google download)
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