I was 5 years old when when Truman won the presidency over Dewey in 1948. My parents were politically aware and vehemently anti Dewey. Their passion must have made quite an impression because it inspired one of my first poems... which I still recall: “Don’t vote for Dewey because he’s gooey.”
Under my parent’s tutelage and examples i grew up to share their passion for small d democracy and caring about my fellow man. We were a family that relished ideas and thought and nature rather than the pursuit of money. We didn’t seem to confuse party with principle although frequently it was the Democratic Party that led the way for those ideals and principles and we happily voted Democratic every year.
But things are different today: small d democracy is being forced into ever smaller boxes and is being shoved to the back of the closet. It is not as prominent a force within the Democratic Party as it once was. I think the shrinkage began in the eighties as the corporate think tanks grew and cable television became their propaganda outlets...misleading voters. (see Truman’s last quote below)
Hopefully we are seeing the resurgence of small d democracy as Bernie keeps waving its banner before our jaded eyes...reminding us of the treasure we stored on those closet shelves.
The first quote below, that someone sent to me earlier today, sent me scurrying to find a source. Did Truman really say that? He did. And that inspired me to look at some of his other quotes. (It is amazing how one thing leads to another...particularly when doing research on the internet.) I must say that I was a little picky as to which quotes I chose to include as some were not so praiseworthy.
I knew Truman was a blunt speaker and rejected the triangulation of platitudinous political speak ...but I didn’t know that he actually spoke up for small d democracy. Here are some of his quotes along with sources. Some will make you realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same. (damn...now who said that?!)
"I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign." Harry S Truman, May 17 1952 trumanlibrary.org/…
Of course, there are dangers in religious freedom and freedom of opinion. But to deny these rights is worse than dangerous, it is absolutely fatal to liberty. The external threat to liberty should not drive us into suppressing liberty at home. Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination. en.wikiquote.org/...
It's an old political trick: "If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em." en.wikiquote.org/...