--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I made the only decision I ever knew how…" description: "\"“I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted reminiscences. What does that mean, exact..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg" --- # I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman… ![“I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted reminiscences. What does that mean, exactly? Did Truman see himself as a professional decision-maker with a narrow specialty, the choice between destroying and not destroying Japanese cities?” quote by James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg) > ““I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted reminiscences. What does that mean, exactly? Did Truman see himself as a professional decision-maker with a narrow specialty, the choice between destroying and not destroying Japanese cities?”” [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truman reflects on his limited decision-making framework, implying that his identity was tied to a single, pivotal choice about war and destruction. **In simple terms:** A single, defining decision shapes identity. Key Takeaway Decision scope defines self-perception. Themes responsibility war identity choice history Mood thoughtful serious Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - historical analysis - leadership training - ethical debates - war studies Key Concepts decision-making moral dilemma leadership Practical Applications - teaching moral complexity - illustrating decision impact Questions to Reflect On - What other decisions define a leader's legacy? - Can one decision truly encapsulate a person's identity? A Different Perspective null ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) ## Related quotes > [“President Truman famously asked for a “one-armed economist” who would take a clear stand; he was sick and tired of economists who kept saying,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/president-truman-famously-asked-for-a-one-armed-economist-who-would/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Did you ever see the Truman Show?...Well sometimes I think I’m Truman. I think the whole world is watching me. My life has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robotham/did-you-ever-see-the-truman-show-well-sometimes-i-think-i-m-truman-i/) [Michael Robotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-robotham/) > [I am the heterosexual Truman Capote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-am-the-heterosexual-truman-capote/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [“Truman knew that government employees deserved fair procedures and asserted that his loyalty program would provide them. But he nonetheless expanded an already flawed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/truman-knew-that-government-employees-deserved-fair-procedures-and/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [Some of our finest leaders were not intellectuals at all, and I admire them enormously because they weren't. Harry Truman wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/some-of-our-finest-leaders-were-not-intellectuals-at-all-and-i-admire/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [ “If there had been any formidable body of cannibals in the country he \[Harry Truman\] would have promised to provide them with free missionaries,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken-2/if-there-had-been-any-formidable-body-of-cannibals-in-the-country-he/) [H.L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken-2/) > [Despite its flaws, the American electoral system has produced Lincoln, the two Roosevelts, and Harry Truman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/despite-its-flaws-the-american-electoral-system-has-produced-lincoln/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“Acheson immediately understood the urgency of this message. He summoned Ambassador Franks and told him that the United States resolutely opposed “the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/acheson-immediately-understood-the-urgency-of-this-message-he/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [The only President who clearly died of overwork was Polk, and that was a long time ago. Hoover, who worked intensely and humorlessly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/the-only-president-who-clearly-died-of-overwork-was-polk-and-that-was/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [“What turns an honest, good-looking guy like you into a theif?" Scott couldn't help but smirk. "I blame chocolate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-knight/what-turns-an-honest-good-looking-guy-like-you-into-a-theif-scott/) [Geoffrey Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-knight/) > [During his presidency, Truman and the Republicans were locked in a series of furious assaults on each other that outraged him and made Truman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/during-his-presidency-truman-and-the-republicans-were-locked-in-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [ Leo Crowley, Harry \[Truman\]'s Foreign Economic Administrator, tells Congressmen the theory...: 'If you create good governments in foreign countries, automatically you will have better… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/leo-crowley-harry-truman-s-foreign-economic-administrator-tells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Harry Truman wrote scathing letters, but he almost never sent them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/harry-truman-wrote-scathing-letters-but-he-almost-never-sent-them/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“September 24, 1947, when President Truman signed a memo to the Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, authorizing the creation of “Operation Majestic Twelve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-salla/september-24-1947-when-president-truman-signed-a-memo-to-the/) Michael E. Salla ## More by James Morrow > [ “\[...\] as Kurt Vonnegut pointed out \[...\] the literary novel has become extraordinarily privatistic of late. It's as if the big issues (Does God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/as-kurt-vonnegut-pointed-out-the-literary-novel-has-become/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“Above all, the Stoics sought wisdom, a condition that I myself hope to achieve after I stop wrecking and burning things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/above-all-the-stoics-sought-wisdom-a-condition-that-i-myself-hope-to/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“A bonfire of the books. The thought curdles me. Some say my species is imperishable, but they lie, for ours is a chilling, provisional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/a-bonfire-of-the-books-the-thought-curdles-me-some-say-my-species-is/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“At last my liaison pulled up before a squat structure of poured concrete buttressed with steel, bleak and featureless, like a sepulcher for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/at-last-my-liaison-pulled-up-before-a-squat-structure-of-poured/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“(On stoicism) "As a matter of fact, the experiment has already started. Yesterday at lunch I had a smaller piece of pecan pie than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/on-stoicism-as-a-matter-of-fact-the-experiment-has-already-started/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“Unless I miss my guess, Yolly is about to become obsessed with horses. It's practically a stage on Piaget's developmental profile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/unless-i-miss-my-guess-yolly-is-about-to-become-obsessed-with-horses/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“Be happy to," I said, cringing to hear such a dumb, folksy locution escape my lips, then launched into my well-rehearsed precis. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/be-happy-to-i-said-cringing-to-hear-such-a-dumb-folksy-locution/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“...God's penis would still rank high among those vistas a priest and a nun could not comfortably share.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/god-s-penis-would-still-rank-high-among-those-vistas-a-priest-and-a/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) > [“4091 East Olympic Boulevard proved to be a nondescript one-storey sandstone building of the sort you drive blithely by every day, knowing it's full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/4091-east-olympic-boulevard-proved-to-be-a-nondescript-one-storey/) [James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) [Explore all 10 James Morrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/) ## More Decision making quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision. 2. Write the criteria down as a principle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. My worst was compromising on certain aspects of a deal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-best-business-decision-was-to-be-independent-as-a-musician-and/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Making a decision takes a moment, living a decision takes a life-time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherif-a-el-mawardy/making-a-decision-takes-a-moment-living-a-decision-takes-a-life-time/) [Sherif A. El-Mawardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherif-a-el-mawardy/) > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“The decisions we take reflects our belief and our charachter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajnish-borah/the-decisions-we-take-reflects-our-belief-and-our-charachter/) Rajnish Borah > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) [Browse all 4,912 Decision making quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted reminiscences. What does that mean, exactly? Did Truman see himself as a professional decision-maker with a narrow specialty, the choice between destroying and not destroying Japanese cities?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Morrow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how-to-make-truman-famously/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decision making" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how-to-make-truman-famously/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9aa/james-morrow-40721_decision-making_i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how_63681.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I made the only decision I ever knew how to make,' Truman famously asserted in one of his carefully scripted…” — James Morrow", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Morrow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morrow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I made the only decision I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how-to-make-truman-famously/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morrow/i-made-the-only-decision-i-ever-knew-how-to-make-truman-famously/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```