Random Thoughts 

by Roger Condit

 Throughout our national history there have been many statements made by presidents of our country that have been worthwhile and remembered through the years. Our first president, George Washington, a man of valor and high moral standards, couldn't tell a lie. When questioned by his father about a felled tree, he readily admitted, "Yes, Sir, I chopped down the cherry tree." This is especially noteworthy today.

Harry S. Truman, our 33rd president, was not one to shirk his responsibilities. His statement became a placard on his office desk which read, "The Buck Stops Here."

Other presidents have made statements that in retrospect have proved to be unworthy and have little need to be remembered except for their triviality.

Rutherford B. Hayes commented on the invention of the telephone. "It's an amazing invention but who would ever use it?"

And taciturn Calvin Coolidge suggested this as an alternative to building an Army Air Corps of many airplanes. "Why don't we buy just one airplane and let the pilots take turns flying it?"

Other statements made by people--not presidential or noted particularly for anything--have had failure rates shorter than those made by Hayes and Coolidge.

Here's a common statement that will show you how quickly some can become absurd, "We don't need a map. I know the way."

In fairness we must assume the assertion was made by a he to a her or a she to a him. The "We" that begins this phrase assumes that one of the two is as certain about how to get somewhere as the swallows are of returning to Capistrano.

Notice that the statement begins with "We don't" ... and ends with "I know... The presumption is that even if the mutterer of the statement should drop dead (a wish sometimes favored by the mutteree) the correspondent wouldn't know how to read a map if they had one.

You would think that the person making the statement might have said instead, "I know the way, my dear, but if you want to follow along as I drive and see how an astronaut gets there, be my guest." See how the gender begins to emerge?

In this instance the would-be map holder could show the astronaut what country road will get back to the right state before it gets too dark to find a motel so the compass can be realigned.

As you can tell by the dissection of this gaff, it doesn't take generations for a statement similar to the ones by Hayes and Coolidge to appear foolish.