President Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States from 1945 until 1953. So he was the President I grew up under from the age of two until I was ten-years old. Truman became President upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt who suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage on April 12, 1945 at the age of 63.
At his first news conference the day after the death of FDR, President Truman said to the gathered male reporters: “Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don’t know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me.”
President Truman once commented on the importance of public opinion polls when it comes to leadership, with the following insight:
“I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he’d taken a poll in Egypt?
“What would Jesus Christ have preached if he’d taken a poll in Israel?
“Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll?
“It isn’t the polls or public opinion of the moment that counts. It is right and wrong and leadership – men with fortitude, honesty, and a belief in what is right – that makes epochs in the history of the world.”
What do YOU think about what President Truman said that it takes to be a leader and not rely on public opinion polls?
YOU NEED NOT BE AFRAID OF WHERE YOU’RE GOING WHEN YOU KNOW GOD IS GOING WITH YOU!
