October 5 ~ Making Opportunities

“A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”
~ Harry S. Truman

Watercolor portrait of President Harry S. Truman On this day in 1947, President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) delivered the first televised White House address—a plea for food aid to Europe—relayed to New York and Pennsylvania.

Truman trusted photographers and understood the power of the new medium. White House photographer George Tames remembered, “President Truman relaxed easily, smiled easily, lived easily in front of a camera.”

Ready to turn opportunities out of difficulties, Truman kept a television in the Oval Office and saw how understanding the broadcast era could bring a leader into every living room.

“With TV,” he said, “a politician can be a guest in every living room in the world.” This moment marked a turning point in leadership, where optimism and courage in new technology could help light the way through challenge.

🌺 How astonishing. Once the radio carried only voices into the home. Then television arrived, turning politics into part of the home itself: A glowing guest at the family table. Look how far we have come since 1947.

See opportunity in every challenge. 🌟