A very long time back, I once read in a Reader's Digest, a short
snippet of a story written by (possibly) a news reporter. I paraphase
it.
_________________________________________
Reporter writes:
I was once in a press conference, during some wartime, where the
American President was answering questions. One reporter asked him
"How does it feel to be an armchair general sitting several thousand
miles away from the war zone, ordering your troops to kill and die.
Aren't you just like General {some Greek/Roman name} in the Punic
Wars?"
The President didn't answer the rather arrogant question, that was
demeaning of the President.
Several years later, I was talking to the President (who wasn't the
President anymore), I asked him about this particular reporter asking
the question, and the President remembered the exact moment. The
President said, "Well, first of all, it was not the Punic war, it was
the Peloponnesian War. Secondly it was not General {some Greek/Roman
name}, but it was {some Greek/Roman name}.
_________________________________________
The reporter was trying to show the humility of this President, by not
attacking the ignorace of the questioner.
Does anybody know who the President was? I think it was Harry Truman,
but not sure. Can you show me a reference or two, to this story?
Also, who are the generals in question, and are the wars the right ones? |
