I have related this story before: In mid-winter of 1946, President Truman was beset with international crises. World War II had ended less than a year earlier; Europe was in economic and political unrest precipitated by the Soviet Union and communist insurgents; Palestine was in the midst of near civil war between Jews and Arabs. At home, refugees from Hitler’s Europe sought entry to the United States and, especially, American support for admission into Palestine.

At a Cabinet meeting that February, Truman had to face the issue of American backing for a Jewish State in Palestine despite Arab and British opposition (The British had been the occupying power in the area since the end of World War I). In turn, the Zionist movement–both in the United States and Europe–was lobbying hard for American sponsorship of displaced refugees. In reference to those pressures, the Cabinet was sarcastically asked by the President, “If Jesus Christ couldn’t satisfy them here on earth, how the hell am I supposed to?” The then Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, responded by noting America’s strong need for Arab oil and, consequently, the need to support the Arabs. Truman shot-back: “I don’t care about the oil. I want to do what’s right.” In the President’s mind, doing “what’s right” would be both compassionate and smart; solving the refugee problem would be the key to ending unrest in the area, making it less susceptible to the kinds of violence that could draw into the political vacuum, America’s enemies.

Today, following the damage wrought to our security by the previous administration, President Biden appears to understand the importance of maintaining and enhancing American values in the quest for national security. In his handling of the pandemic, immigration, racism, criminal justice, etc., Biden has made compassion a key element of the policy formulation process.

Like Truman, Biden was raised in a working-class household constantly worried about finances. The respective families were also religious in the best sense of the word. Years later, when about to enter the United States Senate, Joe was struck with family tragedy—the death of his wife and baby daughter in a horrendous auto accident that also left his two young sons badly hurt. More recently, his adult son Beau died from brain cancer. Thankfully, instead of turning bitter, Biden’s political life was shaped by these tragedies into displays of empathy and concern whenever he had to make key decisions on relevant issues.

What does this have to do with American security? Everything. In policymaking, the past is almost always a vital guide to determining future action. By bringing empathy to that process, decision-makers continue to follow an American political tradition of promoting justice, equality and decency as central to our domestic and foreign policies. In turn, attempting to “do what’s right” has been a primary component of Biden’s approach to the pandemic, as witnessed by the already approved American Cares Act. At least on paper, one would expect to see actions on improving America’s infrastructure, voting and human rights, refugees, etc., replicated on an international scale consistent with the development of a moral, just, and salutary foreign policy for the United States. This President, thankfully, behaves in the manner of Harry Truman, not our Chuckles the Clown former President.