Friday, November 11, 2016

IN SHOCK …


Like so many others I am quaking at the thought of four years with Trump at the helm … but, it is what it is. It has put me in a reflective mood and I decided to go back and take a gander at the Presidents that have been in office in my lifetime. There have been twelve of them starting with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Democrat. He was sworn into office on March 4th, 1933 … when I was 17 days old !

For the very few of you who do not know … FDR is the only President in our history who served 3 consecutive terms and was actually inaugurated for a fourth term but died in office on April 12, 1945. The Vice President Harry S. Truman took over and served until Jan. 20th 1953.
 
 

Now this down-to-earth guy from Missouri I remember well because my parents spoke of him in glowing terms. He is mainly remembered for making the excruciatingly difficult decision to drop the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima but his legacy is much more than that. 
 
Those of us receiving Medicare can thank him for getting it all started. He was a ferocious advocate for National Health Insurance and, although nothing came of it while he was in office he lived long enough to see it become a reality. In 1965 President Lyndon B Johnson, Democrat, signed the Medicare bill into law and Harry Truman and his wife Bess received the first two cards in honor of his past fight for government health care.
 
Truman was a very humble man who also fought for civil rights reform and was responsible for wiping out segregation in the armed forces. He is one of the most quoted of our past Presidents and is often pictured in the oval office with his famous “The buck stops here” sign.
 
The picture above sums up his philosophy and is eerily appropriate for today. I can only pray that the “gluttons of privilege” will be stopped in time … before they do indeed swallow up our country.
 
 

9 Comments:

Blogger Marie Smith said...

We are shocked in Canada as well. It is the topic of discussion everywhere we go. Thinking of you and the other good people of your country, regardless of their political stripe.

8:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I recall Harry wanted to eliminate racial segregation in the military and Ike actually got it done. Ike was great president also.

9:18 AM  
Blogger kenju said...

From your mouth to God's ear.

I am gob-smacked. I feel let-down, betrayed and sad.

My husband voted for Trump and it is a bitter pill to swallow.

9:29 AM  
Blogger NCmountainwoman said...

I've never been one to even consider conspiracy theories. But the combination of DJT's praise for Putin, Russia's hacking and leaking the emails, the Russian Parliament standing up and cheering a Trump election, and top Russian officials confirming they met regularly with members of the Trump campaign? Just a bit too much coincidence. It's so hard to imagine someone like President Obama handing over the Presidency to someone like DJT.

Harry Truman is one of my heroes. Roosevelt kept him totally in the dark and yet he managed to lead our country out of war. Too bad the accolades come so late.

9:53 AM  
Blogger Arkansas Patti said...

Ah, we need more like Harry. I went to Truman Elementary School on Truman Blvd in Key West. They use to let us out of school to watch the motorcade as he headed for the Little White House. My hero.
Lets hope the next 4 years passes more quickly than this past year did and hopefully not too much harm will be done.

11:32 AM  
Blogger Ginnie said...

So sorry ... I deleted Anvilclouds comment by mistake ... he wrote:

What have you done? America, I mean. This is crazy.

2:05 PM  
Blogger Grace-WorkinProgress said...

This too shall pass.

7:34 AM  
Blogger Beatrice P. Boyd said...

While many of us may bot be in agreement with the recent election results, the fact is that people elected DJT. Eight or wrong as this decision may come to be, it is what it is.

7:28 PM  
Blogger troutbirder said...

I am left with disgust and embarrassment over the result. We must remain strong, vigilant and active. Recalling Churchill's words "democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest." In the end it shall prevail....

9:32 AM  

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