Harry Truman, Can I Have Dinner with You? by Tyler

Harry Truman, Can I Have Dinner with You? by Tyler - October 2017 Scholarship Essay

Given the chance, I would have dinner with Harry Truman for two main reasons. Truman was the president who decided to drop the nuclear bombs on Japan in WWII. My father was born in Japan and as a result, I do not support Truman’s decision to drop the bomb, since many of my family’s fellow citizens died as a result. It’s impossible to go back in time and prevent the bombs from being dropped, but I would like to talk to Truman and find out more about what happened. I would ask him about the circumstances, with questions like “What prompted you to have the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb?” and “Why attack the civilians?” I would also ask Truman “Why did you ultimately decide to drop the bomb?” “Did you feel bad for killing so many civilians? Any regrets?” As Truman is a sensible person, I expect him to feel bad in some way for his decisions but in the end, it was for the greater good of the country and to an extent, the world. With this being the first time a nuclear bomb has been used, it did lead to the Cold War, or at least part of the tensions between the US and Russia. I wonder if Truman saw this coming, but it would be really cool to talk to him and find out.

Perhaps the greatest reason why I would like have dinner with Truman is that he is very passionate about fishing, my favorite hobby. In my last vacation to Key West, I had the chance to visit his Key West house. Fishing is my favorite activity to do in the Keys, which Truman did a lot of and makes me very jealous. I would ask Truman what his favorite fish is to catch, what’s the biggest fish he’s ever caught, and if he would go fishing with me. How cool would it be if I had the chance to go fishing with a former president? We could talk about all things fishing and maybe even eat some fish that we caught for dinner.

Truman had an interesting life and presidency with common interests with me. Given the chance to eat dinner with him, I would have so much to talk about with him, making Truman the one US President I would like to have dinner with.