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OUR THIRTY THIRD PRESIDENT!?

by SY SCHECHTMAN

Yes, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are, and his name was Harry. S. Truman, with middle initial merely a portentious harbinger of things to come in our history! (I include Mrs. Calabash merely to embellish respect and or even a bit of veneration for us old codgers who remember Jimmy Durante—of the large, almost patented nose, his tender “snozzola”, and his loving parting “benedictions” at the conclusion of his performances. But here we shall have a more dignified overview of Harry Truman and his crisis fraught presidency, beginning with FDR’s (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) sudden death in the first few weeks of his totally unprecedented fourth term in office. Indeed, the newly elected vice president---Truman- was suddenly the newly minted President of the most powerful nation of the world by the death of hitherto apparently healthy and omnipotent Franklin Roosevelt. We, the unsung electorate, allowed him to pass muster at the polls for four terms --16 years!—because he seemed upright and healthy, despite, in retrospect, never outwardly mobile. And despite his generally deteriorating medical condition seemed to project a somewhat grim but fairly jaunty optimism and the imperishable slogan “that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Personally, having just become of voting age, I had the dubious privilege of voting for Roosevelt all four of those four presidential terms, and being firm in my conviction of its correction. With no real understanding that our aging leader was really a cripple, if not mentally then still much beyond the consummate energy necessary to lead the so called “free world” and Soviet Russia, against the mostly democratic forces of the allied forces of the West. That is, against the conglomerate evils of Hitler and Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Mussolini, and Hirohito and the Japanese growing far eastern empire. And so when Harry Truman, the one time haberdasher from St. Louis, assumed the mantle of leadership of the most powerful nation in world history, the fact that the atom bomb was just about to be successfully tested by our military must have added to the already immense burden just assumed by the suddenly elevated new president. A highly secret fact that even Truman was not aware of just a few prior months ago. Much behind the scenes, conjecture about the ethics and efficacy faced the fledgling president, which did indeed cause well over 100,000 casualties due to the intense aftermath of radiation and fire bombing caused by the hideous two assaults---Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But still well within the approval range of the of the American public, many of whose children were already enroute from the victorious western front---Europe-- to fight the still well entrenched and still determined Japanese armies. Indeed, even avowed American pacifists approved what this decision of Truman’s portended. No more American invasions needed for total triumph. Ultimately regrettable, but undeniably currently feasible!! And today a total triumph! Japan has only police forces and only minuscule military clout, and strong social and political ties to the total United States entity. Strong, but amicable competition in capitalist fashion in the economic realm and a viable, functioning democratic political system, too, as does our former arch enemy in Europe, Nazi Germany.

Indeed, Truman worked tirelessly to hold back burdensome former ally ---Soviet Russia-–as it spread its influence across previously free independent small eastern Europe. And again, indeed, there was was an “independant” organization called the “comintern” devoted to suborning the loyality of other super sophisticates from other places or other lands with dubious, perhaps subversive, “free market”avant garde rhetoric that would inflate one’s ego, in our Brooklyn splendid eeries of “ holier than thou super, or supercilious--- attitudes’. In our local neighborhood, the fairly large neighborhood New Utrecht High School local chapter was the ASU--the The American Students Union. Many of us debated whether we could afford both the G.O. dues (after school recreation) and this additional political burden. Most of the time we rather affluent teens did both with quiet but proud juvenile subversiveness! What became in some places came to be called “the fifth column” –the loyal zealots who devoutly betrayed their country for the holy communist workers inevitable victory. This is what Koestler’s “Darkness at Noon” was about and which I read at that time, around l940. The so called inevitable victory of the invincible, inevitable international proletariat. This was made laughable by tiny Finland who held the invading mammoth Soviet system at bay for almost a year and conclusively terminated my youthful “romance” with hard core leftish politics. (But not with the Democratic party until Ronald Reagan.)

Besides the atom bombings almost at the inception of his most eventful presidency,---on August 6^th Hiroshima and on August 9^th Nagasaki, in l945 –Truman had a mix of most significant domestic and foreign events to steer the country through. These were events happened on their own haphazard schedule and thus the newspapers had only scant stories of Harry and the first lady, Bess, on idyllic vacations. There were also some very compelling domestic events but it is important to remember that while the country as whole was “liberal New Deal” most of the Southern Democratic politicians were much more conservative at this time. However, almost universal acclaim in this country resulted with the action of our presidents’ and both the Senate and House of Representatives similar approval of our recognition of the new Israeli State. An unwavering support that, to this day, our congress has always manifested when Jewish prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu been accorded “courtesy time” to speak. He even “out Obama’s” our great current oratorical leader, with their frequent enthusiastic –almost furious—applause. Truman also led the fight for racial equality by desegregating our military forces and forbidding racial discrimination in federal employment. On the domestic front Truman thrived by his just folksy, neighborly approach. An underdog in his fight for reelection against Tom Dewey, his popular Republican opponent, he adopted the inexpensive “whistle stop” back of train approach, and Truman and his wife Bess, toured the country most effectively. Indeed, this rather inexpensive but most strenuous approach won the day. The famous early edition of the Chicago Herald Tribune the day after the election shows a triumphant Truman holding up a copy of the Tribune with the most embarrassing mistake----DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN!

Actually Truman’s greatest legacy is his valiant stand against the gradual, insidious encroachment by the communist, government controlled centralization of production. The so called Truman Doctrine provided military aid to countries resisting communist overthrow; the Marshall Plan was to revive their impeded and stunted economic progess; the North Atlantic Treaty alliance (NATO) a military barrier across further Soviet advance in Europe and strong support for South Korea in its’ stalwart resistance to communist inspired North Korea. And incidently, Truman’s stalwart defense against General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur who was strongly inclined to invade China, thus upholding a prime constitutional principle of the penultimate primacy of presidential power. And preventing drastic over extension of our military resources in another “mini world war”.

Truman, most fortunately, reserved his animosity for squabbles mostly with some reporters about his daughter Margaret’s singing career. Washington Post critic Paul Hume was appreciative of her poise but not her vocal ability. “She is extremely attractive but can not sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time”. Truman’s response was immediate, and on White House stationery, too. “I never met you, but if I do you’ll need a new nose and plenty of beefsteak and possibly a supporter below.” But daughter Margaret, undaunted as a performer, went on to a successful career on the management side of the arts business and most happy marriage and four male grandchildren for the presidential grandparents to fuss over.

Also, and not just a mere postscript, was ex Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Fulton, Missouri speech about the “iron curtain” that was gradually descending, separating the former war allies. And actually, in retrospect, this really marks the start of the “cold war” which only recently appears to have ended, about thirty years after Churchill’s speech. And even about at least another ten years before-- years when Hitler began his assault against Jewry, hapless Poland and the civilized world with the start of World War II. This was before Pearl Harbor and our involvement in 1941. But FDR was aiding hard pressed British shipping with American surreptious submarines. Illegally, too.

Ah, Peace where is thy sting!? It was not in the defunct League of Nations, Certainly not the struggling United Nations and now have the possible nuclear proliferation escalating….