Harry S. Truman Quotes
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?
Truman, Harry S. "Remarks to the American Society of Newspaper Editors." Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1952-53, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1966, p. 273.
The mayor had asked his health commissioner what the city could do most to improve the health of its citizens, to which the health commissioner—like amost all public health experts—responded “Cut down the smoking.” Without checking with any other politicians or advisors, Bloomberg just began his now famous campaign for a smake free city. He was criticized, castigated, and sued by local bars and restaurants and national tobacco business. But New York became the first Smoke Free city and others all started emulating New York. This saved more lives than all the rest of the public health programs taken together.
Majority public opinion does not always prevail in a modern democracy as there are Constitutional limits on the prerogatives of the majority. Also leadership has played a strong role in America’s development where strong leaders have been able to do the right thing despite contrary public opinion.
Harry S. Truman was an American politician who served as the 33rd President of the United States (1945–53). He served as a United States Senator from Missouri (1935–45) and briefly as Vice President (1945) before he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945 upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was president during the final months of World War II, and approved the plan to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman was elected in his own right in 1948. He presided over an uncertain domestic scene as America sought its path after the war and tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War.
