The Buck Stops Here

Guest column from Rev. Michael Brooks of Siluria Baptist Church, Alabaster AL

Alabama governor Dr. Robert Bentley came to Marion several years ago for a ribbon-cutting event and afterwards had lunch at a local restaurant with community leaders. I was surprised to get a call inviting me to the lunch as a representative of the college. 

As we say in the South, I was in "high cotton."

I asked the governor if he admired Ronald Reagan as his predecessor Bob Riley did. I was in Riley's office once and noted the "It Can Be Done" sign on his desk--a replica of the one Reagan kept on his desk bespeaking a positive attitude. 

"I do admire Reagan," Bentley said, "but I really like Harry Truman."

Bentley explained that Truman refused appointments to corporate boards in his post-presidency. 

"They don't want Harry Truman," the president said. "They want a former president. My honor is not for sale."

"That's the kind of integrity we need today in politics," Bentley said.

I asked the governor if he had one of Truman's famous "The Buck Stops Here" signs. 

"I don't have one," Bentley said, "but if I did, it would be on my desk in Montgomery."

According to the Truman Presidential Library, a friend of Truman saw this sign while visiting the Federal Reformatory in El Reno, Okla., and had one made for the president. "Passing the buck" originated in poker when a marker, often a buckhorn-handled knife, was passed to indicate the player didn't want to deal. 

In a 1951 speech Truman explained that leaders take responsibility and don’t blame others for failure.

Truman’s daughter, Margaret, gave President Jimmy Carter one of these signs. Carter, too, admired Truman. He placed the sign on his Resolute desk in the Oval Office. It’s now in the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta.

I excused myself from the lunch for a few minutes to return to my campus office and retrieve my Truman sign. I hurried back to the restaurant and gave it to the governor. He was pleased and said it would be proudly displayed when he returned to his office.

The message behind "The Buck Stops Here" is significant since we commonly blame others for our ills. It began in Eden when Adam blamed Eve who blamed the serpent. 

The blame game continues. "It's not my fault; it's my predecessor's fault," leaders may say, or "My staff messed up." 

One of the legacies of President Truman is a reminder that great leaders take responsibility and are accountable to the people they serve.  

And there’s something endearing and humanizing when we honestly and humbly admit we messed up. 

The God of scripture forgives when we admit our wrong, and people of goodwill who love us will forgive, too.

Michael J. Brooks, pastor of Siluria Baptist Church in Alabaster, Alabama and former Judson College faculty member, writes a weekly faith column. Visit siluriabaptist.com for more information. Rev. Brooks has graciously given ALPolitics.com permission to repost his regular pastoral column here.

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