Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "4525944",
    "label": "Commencement Address, Wisconsin State University, June 3, 1966",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525944"
}

{
    "id": "4525944",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525944",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Commencement Address, Wisconsin State University, June 3, 1966",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525944",
    "collections": [
        "Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers",
        "Speeches"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Political affairs"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4525944.pdf",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4525944.pdf",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4525944.pdf",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4525944",
    "naId": 4525944,
    "coverageEndDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1966-06-30",
        "month": 6,
        "year": 1966
    },
    "coverageStartDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1966-06-01",
        "month": 6,
        "year": 1966
    },
    "levelOfDescription": "fileUnit",
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0054/642080/4525944.pdf",
    "mediaId": "f89ae9171abf8217",
    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box D20, folder \"Commencement Address,\nWisconsin State University, June 3, 1966\" of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press\nSecretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized\nfrom\nBox\nD20\nof\nThe\nFord\nCongressional\nPapers:\nPress\nSecretary\nand\nSpeech\nFile\nat\nthe\nGerald\nR.\nFord\nPresidential\nDr\nJones.\nLibrary\nCOMMENCEMENT ADDRESS--WISC. STATE U.--JUNE 3, 1966\nI LOVE YOUR TOWN AND I AM HAPPY TO BE HERE. IT IS\nTHE KIND OF PLACE THAT SPEAKS TO ME OF ALL AMERICA.\nWHAT COULD BE MORE AMERICAN THAN A SLOGAN LIKE \"OSHKOSH,\nB' GOSH\" OR \"WE COVER THE WORLD.' SOME PEOPLE CALL THEM\nCOVERALLS; SOME, OVERALLS. TO ME, EITHER WORD SAYS\nvery\nOSHKOSH AND THE, BEST OF AMERICA.\ngrowing\nTHIS IS A GREAT, STATE UNIVERSITY, AND YOU ARE ASSEMBLE\nHERE TOGETHER FOR THE LAST TIME. NOT ONE OF YOU KNOWS\nFOR SURE JUST WHERE YOU WILL BE A YEAR FROM NOW AT THIS\nVERY HOUR.\nmy\nwell\nTHESE COMMENTS fine OF MINE MAY BE THE LAST WORDS YOU WILL\nHEAR AT THIS INSTITUTION. WHAT EVERYONE IS MOST INTER-\nR.FORD\nGERALD\nESTED IN, HOWEVER, ARE YOUR WORDS AND YOUR THOUGHTS AND\nYOUR GOALS AS YOU LEAVE AND AS YOU TRAVEL ON\n-2-\nMY THEME TODAY 1SA FAMILIAR ONE IS SIMPLE THAT,\nIN AN AGE WHEN SO MUCH IS SAID OF \"TOGETHERNESS,\"\nAPARTNESS DESERVES INCREASINGLY AN EMPHASIS OF ITS OWN.\nNO ONE CAN DENY THAT \"TOGETHERNESS\" -- UNITY -- IS\nREQUIRED FOR STRENGTH AND SURVIVAL, FOR THAT OF INDIVI-\nDUALS, THE COMMUNITY, AND THE NATION. THE SEEMINGLY\nCHAOTIC EVENTS ERUPTING IN THE WORLD ABOUT US MAKE THIS\nPARTICULARLY CLEAR. BUT IS IT NOT TRUE ALSO, THAT APART-\nNESS OF THE RIGHT KIND, THAT IS, PLACING AN EQUAL EMPHASIS\nON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL, IS REQUIRED FOR\nFULFILLMENT AND FOR PROGRESS?\nTHE GREAT PROBLEMS ARE FUNDAMENTALLY INDIVIDUAL\nPROBLEMS. THE GREAT DECISIONS MUST, THEREFORE, INITIALLY\nBE INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS. SENSITIVITY, APPRECIATION AND\n-3-\nCOMPREHENSION ARE ALWAYS, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, QUALITIES\nAND FUNCTIONS OF INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE. THE ASSEMBLY\nLINES OF MODERN EDUCATION, AS WELL AS THOSE OF MODERN\nINDUSTRY, AND JUST CONCEIVABLY THOSE OF MODERN POLITICS,\nARE QUITE CAPABLE OF SWEEPING US PAST OPPORTUNITIES LIFE\nOFFERS US AS INDIVIDUALS FOR MAKING OUR OWN CLEAR-HEADED,\nQUIET DECISIONS AS TO THE COURSE WE WISH TO FOLLOW.\nI HOPE THAT IN THIS RESPECT YOU WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY\nalthough 2 am print to be one.\nCOLOR ME REPUBLICAN. RESPECT FOR AND EMPHASIS UPON THE\nIMPORTANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IS NOT A PARTISAN NOR EVEN\nA POLITICAL CONSIDERATION. IT HAS BEEN THE FOCUS OF\nATTENTION AND OF EMPHASIS BY THE GREATEST OF THE\nPHILOSOPHERS. IT HAS BEEN THE INTELLECTUAL REQUIREMENT\nOF THE GREATEST OF THE TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE AGES\n-4-\nIT HAS BEEN THE RECURRENT THEME AND THE PREACHMENT OF\nMEMBERS OF THE CLOTH OF ALL FAITHS SINCE THE DAWNING OF\nTIME--FOR WE ARE INDEED CREATED IN HIS SOLE AND INDIVIDUAL\nIMAGE AND LIKENESS.\nLET ME AT THIS POINT REASSURE YOU THAT, PERHAPS IN A\nDEPARTURE FROM THE TRADITION OF COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES,\nIT IS NOT MY INTENTION TO DEPLORE, TO DISCOURAGE, OR TO\nDESPAIR. I DO NOT BELIEVE, DESPITE THE ENORMITY OF THE\nPROBLEMS WE FACE, THAT THEY ARE INSOLUBLE. I DO NOT FOR\nA SINGLE SECOND BELIEVE THAT YOUR GENERATION IS EITHER\nINCAPABLE OF FINDING THE SOLUTIONS TO MANY OF THEM OR\nUNWILLING TO FACE THE NECESSITY TO DO SO. I CANNOT AGREE,\nFORD\nI HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO AGREE, WITH THOSE WHO PERIODI -\nGERALD\nCALLY LOOK ABOUT THEM AND VIEW THIS AS THE WORST OF ALL\n-5-\nPOSSIBLE WORLDS. NOR AM I WILLING TO CONCEDE THAT MY\nGENERATION, AND THOSE WHICH PRECEDED MINE, HAVE DONE\nAS BAD A JOB OF IT AS MANY delapilly PROCLAIM.\nfor THE\nHEALTH OF OUR PEOPLE HAS BEEN IMMEASURABLY\nthe genens of\nproneers inthe laboratory and with the patient\nENHANCED BOTH THROUGH, MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENT, AND LEGISLATIVE\nACTION. EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AND METHODS HAVE BEEN\nIMPROVED BEYOND ALL THE EXPECTATIONS OF FIFTY YEARS AGO,\nTHROUGH THE CONCERTED ACTION OF EDUCATORS, PUBLIC ADMIN-\nISTRATORS AND ENLIGHTENED HOLDERS OF ELECTED OFFICE.\nWORKING CONDITIONS AND RETIREMENT AND PENSION PROVISIONS\nHAVE BEEN IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY THROUGH THE CLOSE\nCOOPERATION OF MANAGEMENT, LABOR AND POLITICAL LEADERSHIP,\nCIVIL RIGHTS--AND CIVIL LIBERTIES--HAVE, THROUGH VIGOROUS\nBIPARTISAN DETERMINATION IN THE CONGRESS AND IN OUR STATE\n-6-\nLEGISLATURES, BEEN MULTIPLIED AND STRENGTHENEED REMARK-\nABLY IN THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS ALONE.\nTHAT MUCH REMAINS TO BE DONE IS UNDENIABLE, BUT THAT\nGREAT OPPORTUNITIES REMAIN TO BE SEIZED IS CRYSTAL CLEAR.\nTO SUGGEST OR TO MAINTAIN THAT, IN THIS AWESOME NUCLEAR\nAGE, THERE CAN BE NEITHER HOPE NOR CONFIDENCE IS POPPY-\nCOCK. OUR DAYS ARE NO LONGER THAN THOSE OF OUR FORE-\nFATHERS, OUR NIGHTS ARE NO DARKER. AND IF THERE IS AN\nADVANTAGE THAT IS OURS IT LIES IN THE FACT THAT THEY\nSTOOD SO TALL BEFORE US, STRODE SO CONFIDENTLY AND\nMAINTAINED SO WELL FOR US THIS DEMOCRACY Republic IN WHICH WE LIVE.\nI MUST CONFESS THAT I FIND MYSELF IN THE POSITION OF\nGERALD\nTHE MAN WHO, AFTER LISTENING AT LENGTH TO SOME OF THE\nWEIGHTIEST MINDS OF HIS GENERATION DESPAIR AS TO THE\n-7-\nFUTURE, REMARKED INNOCENTLY. \"I TOO AM TRYING TO BE\nPHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT THIS WORLD OF OURS, BUT I GUESS I\nJUST DON'T KNOW HOW. CHEERFULNESS KEEPS CREEPING IN.\"\nFOR ME, CHEERFULNESS KEEPS CREEPING IN FOR MANY\nREASONS:\n---BECAUSE OF THE YOUNG AND VIGOROUS STRENGTH AND\nHOPE YOU HERE TODAY REPRESENT,\n---BECAUSE OF THE INFINITE HUMAN, NATURAL AND\nINDUSTRIAL RESOURCES OUR NATION POSSESSES,\n---BECAUSE WE ARE NOW, AS WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN,\n\"INVOLVED IN MANKIND.\"\nWE ARE DETERMINED TO HOLD AND JUSTIFY OUR PLACE OF\nHONOR IN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS. OUR PLACE OF STRENGTH\nAND RESPECT IN THE CIVILIZED HISTORY OF MAN.\nWHEN I SPEAK, HOWEVER, OF THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE YOU\n-8-\nFOR PERSONAL SATISFACTION, SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT, AND\nTOTAL FULFILLMENT, I THINK WITH EQUAL WEIGHT OF AN OBLI-\nGATION THAT IS PECULIARLY AND UNDENIABLY YOURS AS MEMBERS\nOF A HIGHLY FAVORED AND GREATLY BLESSED SEGMENT OF OUR\nSOCIETY--THAT OF THE EDUCATED MAN AND WOMAN.\nAS A MEMBER OF THE CONGRESS, TO BE SURE, BUT EQUALLY\nAS A HUSBAND AND A FATHER AND A WORKING CITIZEN, I SEE\nYOUR OPPORTUNITY AND OBLIGATION INEXTRICABLY COUPLED IN\nTHREE SPECIFIC AREAS OF DUTY: THE DUTY TO THINK, THE\nDUTY TO VOTE, THE DUTY TO ACT.\nOF THESE THREE, THE MOST IMPORTANT AND THE MOST\nDIFFICULT IS THAT OF THE DUTY TO THINK. FOR, DESPITE\nTHE ACADEMIC AND INTELLECTUAL ADVANTAGES THAT HAVE BEEN\nYOURS, THE PROCESS OF THINKING AS AN INDIVIDUAL, IN\nLIBRARY\n-9-\nTOTAL INDEPENDENCE OF OUTSIDE INFLUENCE AND PRESSURE, IS\nPERHAPS THE MOST DEMANDING THAT ANY MAN OR WOMAN FACES.\nIN THE WORLD OF POLITICS TODAY, AT A TIME WHEN\nPOLITICS IS AND WILL EVERMORE BE EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS,\nYOU ARE CHARGED AS INDIVIDUALS BY BOTH CONSCIENCE AND\nCIRCUMSTANCE WITH THE DUTY TO THINK. THIS IS THE DUTY\nTO EXAMINE ISSUES IN THE GREATEST POSSIBLE DETAIL, TO\nQUESTION THE OBVIOUS--BOTH THE OBVIOUS DOGMA AND THE\nOBVIOUS PROCLAIMERS OF IT--TO ASK YOURSELF, QUITE BY\n1\nYOURSELF, WHETHER THIS ISSUE OR THAT IS A VALID ONE,\nI\nWHETHER THIS CANDIDATE OR THAT IS THE PREFERABLE ONE,\nw\nWHETHER THIS VIEWPOINT OR THAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE ONE.\n2urge\n2\nAND IN THIS PROCESS TO RESIST THE PRESSURE AND THE\nRALD\nLIBRARY\nPROPAGANDA OF PREFABRICATED INFLUENCE - - JUST POSSIBLY\nEVEN THAT OF YOUR CLOSEST ASSOCIATES AND FRIENDS.\n-10-\nTHE IMPORTANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IS ALWAYS DRAMATICALLY\nILLUSTRATED BY HIS USE OF THE THINKING-MAN'S FILTER.\nONLY BY ITS INDIVIDUAL AND COLDLY (OR WARMLY) INTELLEC-\nTUAL USE CAN YOU ARRIVE AT OPINIONS AND DECISIONS THAT\nARE WORTHY OF AN INQUIRING MIND.\nIN TANDEM WITH THIS DUTY TO THINK, THERE OF COURSE\nCOMES YOUR DUTY TO VOTE. THIS, I ESPECIALLY NOW, I IS\nA\nDUTY WHICH, IF NOT FULFILLED, CAN REPRESENT DISASTER\nFOR YOU AND YOURS, BUT WHICH, IF EXERCISED CAN REPRESENT\nNOT ONLY SATISFACTION BUT, / I DARE TO SAY IT, I SALVATION.\nEDMUND BURKE'S DICTUM STILL VIBRATES WITH TRUTH: \"ALL\nGERALD\nTHAT IS REQUIRED FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS THAT GOOD\nMEN SHALL DO NOTHING.\" There to also the appropriate quote from the\ngreat Italian poit, Dante, \"The hothest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of\ndrises do mothing\ngreat moral DO YOU CLASSIFY YOURSELF AS A LIBERAL, A CONSERVATIVE,\n-11-\nOR AS A MODERATE WALKER-DOWN-THE-MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD;] —\nInsert\nwill\nHAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF THIS IN CONSIDERATION OF EACH\nOF THE POLITICAL ISSUES OF OUR TIME?) WILL YOU ASK\nYOURSELF THIS--IN AN HONEST SEARCH FOR A RATIONAL ANSWER\nAS YOU PREPARE TO CAST YOUR FUTURE VOTES, BOTH ON ISSUES\nAND FOR OR/AGAINST INDIVIDUALS? WILL YOU vehement FOR EXAMPLE,\nwillyou\nIF A LIBERAL, BE PREPARED TO SHARE THE BLIND PARTISANSHIP\nWHICH CHARACTERIZES SOME OF OUR ALLEGED LIBERALS? WILL\nthouat that for out fringe The political spectrum\nYOU, AS A PRIDEFUL MODERATE, BE SATISFIED TO WALK\nDELICATELY DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, FEARFUL OF RISK\nAT EITHER HAND AND HOPEFUL THAT SOMEHOW YOUR NEAR-\nNEUTRAL POSITION WILL, BY ITSELF, REPRESENT YOUR BEST\nTHOUGHT AND YOUR BEST VOTE?\nTHERE ARE MANY CITIZENS AND VOTERS NOWADAYS, AS IN\n-12-\nDECADES PAST, WHO EXPECT OF THEIR POLITICAL REPRESENTA-\nTIVES AND LEADERS THE VISION TO SEE THINGS, THE JUDGMENT\nTO SEE THROUGH THINGS, THE FAITH TO SEE THINGS THROUGH--\nThis\nIS OBVIOUSLY AN IMPOSSIBLE IDEALISM. AT THE\nVERY SAME TIME, THEY EXPECT AND DEMAND INFINITELY LESS\nOF THEMSELVES, FULLY CONTENT TO THINK BRIEFLY, IF AT ALL,\nfrom The White Haure to the Court Home,\nTO VOTE QUICKLY, IF AT ALL, AND TO EXPECT MIRACLES.\nCONVERSELY, THERE ARE POLITICIANS AND INDIVIDUALS,\nWHO DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS LOOK EXPECTANTLY TO THE ELEC-\nTORATE ALONE FOR GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION, QUITE UNWILLING\nTO RISK AN INDIVIDUAL OPINION OR CONVICTION FOR FEAR OF\nEXTINCTION AT THE POLLS.\nIT IS REQUIRED, YOU SEE, NOT ALONE OF YOU BUT OF OUR\nPOLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN ALL PARTIES, THAT THE IMPORTANCE\n-13-\nOF INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT AND TRULY INDIVIDUAL VOTING BE\nPARAMOUNT, I EVER DOMINATING GROUP AND PARTY AND OTHER\nPRESSURE, WHETHER OF A POLITICAL OR INTELLECTUAL OR\nECONOMIC KIND.\nWHEN, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE COME BEFORE THE CONGRESS\nSUCH ISSUES OF A COMPLEX AND PERPLEXING NATURE AS\nFOREIGN AID, FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION, REAPPORTIONMENT\nOF CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE,\nAPPROPRIATIONS MEASURES AMOUNTING TO BILLIONS UPON\nBILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WILL EFFECT THE FUTURE OF\nEVERY FAMILY IN THE NATION, THERE IS REQUIRED OF EACH\nMEMBER OF THE CONGRESS THE MOST INTENT, THE MOST\nLIBRARY\nINDEPENDENT, THE BEST THOUGHT HE CAN POSSIBLY BRING TO\nTHE MEASURE. THERE IS REQUIRED EQUALLY THEREFORE,\n-14-\nPRIORI, THE FINEST POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION IN THE\nCONGRESS THAT YOU, BY YOUR BALLOTS, CAN PRODUCE.\nFINALLY, LET ME SUGGEST THAT YOU HAVE THE DUTY TO ACT\nCONTINUINGLY IN EXTENSION AND FULFILLMENT OF YOUR\nTHINKING AND IN JUSTIFICATION OF YOUR VOTE. TODAY'S\nPROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED ONLY BY CONTINUING THOUGHT AND\nPOLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC ACTION ON THE PART OF\nSUCH AS YOU. THEY WILL BE SOLVED ONLY BY THOSE. WHO,\nHAVING USED THEIR GOD-GIVEN RESOURCES OF THE MIND AND\nTHEIR FREEDOM-BORN GIFT OF THE VOTE, ARE WILLING TO WORK\nWITH UNFLAGGING INTEREST AND ZEAL TO REALIZE THEIR\nINDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE DREAMS.\nTO THE IMAGE OF THE THINKING-MAN'S FILTER, LET ME ADD\nTHAT OF THE DISTILLATION OF THOUGHT CALLED WISDOM, WHICH\n-15-\nMUST BE ITS INEVITABLE PRODUCT. THIS REQUIRES OF YOU,\nAS IT HAS REQUIRED INCREASINGLY OF EACH GENERATION, THAT\nIN ONE RESPECT YOU BE CONSERVATIVE AND DRAW FROM THE\nPAST THE VERY BEST IT HAS TO OFFER FOR APPLICATION TO\nTODAY'S AND TOMORROW'S NEEDS. IT REQUIRES OF YOU\nSIMILARLY THAT YOU CHALLENGE BOTH THE OBVIOUS AND THE\nDEVIOUS, BE PREPARED TO ENTERTAIN NEW IDEAS AS THEY\nPROVE TO YOU TO BE TRUE IDEAS, AND TO DEMAND THAT BOTH\nTHE PROVEN AND THE PROMISING BE IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY\nFOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.\nLIBRARY\nIN THIS EFFORT YOU WILL ENCOUNTER AREAS AND FORCES OF\nMOMENTARY DISCOURAGEMENT. THERE ARE STILL THOSE AMONG\nUS IN PUBLIC LIFE AND IN PRIVATE LIFE WHO ARE CARRYING\nON ARDENT LOVE AFFAIRS WITH THE PAST AND WHO CANNOT\nlooking 16- we must but fround.\n?\nBE MOVED FROM THIS, TO THEM, HAPPY EXERCISE. THIS IS PURE\nBOURBONISM--NOT THE KIND YOU DRINK, BUT THE KIND YOU\nTHINK--IF YOU ARE NOT CAREFUL.\nTHE OTHER PRINCIPAL FACTOR AND FORCE IN OPPOSITION\nradical\nTO YOU IS THAT OF THE, MILITANT LEFT, WHICH BELIEVES THAT\nINCREASED RELIANCE UPON GOVERNMENT PATERNALISM AND THE\nSECURITY IT PROMISES IS NOT ONLY THE WAVE, BUT THE MAGIC\nCan a\nWAND OF THE FUTURE. NO THINKING MAN OR WOMAN\nRATIONALLY ACCEPT ANY SUCH VLEWS, SUCH PHILOSOPHIES\nTet me remind you a government tig enough to give us everything we want no a government beg energh the from everything us her\nwe\nSUCH FASE SE PANACEAS? CONTINUED AND UNDILUTED EXTREMI SM\nIN POLITICAL THOUGHT, AS IN INDIVIDUAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY,\nCAN BRING NOTHING BUT DISAPPOINTMENT AND DISASTER.\nI URGE UPON YOU, THEREFORE, A QUIET CONSIDERATION OF\nTHE POSITION AND THE POWER OF THE GENUINE MODERATE IN\n-17-\nOUR SOCIETY. THIS IS A POSITION AND A POWER RESPECTED\nTHROUGH THE AGES BY THOSE WHO THINK, BY THOSE WHO ARE\nthose\nQUITE WILLING TO HEAR AND TO ASSESS THE ARGUMENTS OF THE\nat either end 2 the political spectrum\nBOURBON AND OF THE AVANT-GARDE, BUT WHO THEN AND ONLY\nTHEN, WITH A FIERCE INDIVIDUAL PRIDE OF MIND, DETERMINE\nFOR THEMSELVES WHAT THE NEXT BEST MOVE SHOULD BE.\nTHE DUTY TO THINK, THE DUTY TO VOTE, THE DUTY TO ACT--\nTHESE REPRESENT YOUR OPPORTUNITY AND YOUR OBLIGATION AS\nGRADUATES OF THIS UNIVERSITY AND CITIZENS IN THIS SOCIETY.\nFAILURE TO SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND TO ACCEPT THIS\nOBLIGATION WILL RESULT INEVITABLY IN YOUR LEAVING NOTHING\nBUT YOUR SEAT-PRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME. MORE IMPOR-\nTANTLY, IT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISINTEGRATION AND\nDESTRUCTION OF ALL THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN US OF BEAUTY AND\n-18-\nGOODNESS BY THOSE WHO HAVE WALKED BEFORE.\nI AM TOLD BY SOME THAT THE ALARMS AND FEARS OF THIS\n1\nAWESOME NUCLEAR AGE HAVE DISCOURAGED COUNTLESS OF OUR\n1\nYOUNG PEOPLE, HAVE CAUSED THEIR HOPES AND DREAMS TO WILT,\n3\nAND HAVE LEFT THEM DESPONDENT AND CYNICAL AS TO ANY\nFULFILLMENT WHATSOEVER IN THE YEARS TO COME. I DO NOT\nBELIEVE THIS FOR A MOMENT, NOR DO YOU. IF I DID, 1\nNOULD HAVE BECOME DESPONDENT AND CYNICAL AND WOULD LONG\nSINCE HAVE CEASED TO LABOR IN THE POLITICAL VINEYARD FOR\nFORD\nTHOSE THINGS IN WHICH I DO SO TRULY BELIEVE.\nLIBRARY\nI AM NOT IN THE LEAST DISCOURAGED. I REFUSE TO DESPAIR.\nAND I SAY TO YOU FONDLY, BUT FLATLY, THAT YOU HAVE NO\nREASON TO DO SO EITHER. IN EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY'S\nSUPERB PHRASING. \"I KNOW, BUT I DO NOT APPROVE AND I\n-19-\nAM NOT RESIGNED.\"\nIT WAS IN THE YEAR 1785, WE ARE TOLD, THAT A REMARKABLE\nMETEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENON OCCURRED WHICH ONE DAY AT HIGH\nNOON BLACKED OUT THE SUN OVER A LARGE PART OF NEW ENGLAND,\nLEAVING THE AREA IN A DARKNESS AS DEEP AS THAT OF\nMIDNIGHT. SO SUDDEN AND SO UNUSUAL WAS THE OCCURRENCE\nTHAT CHICKENS WENT TO ROOST, BATS BEGAN TO FLY AND THE\nPOPULACE IN MANY PLACES RAN PANIC-STRICKEN THROUGH THE\nSTREETS, BELIEVING THE END OF THE WORLD TO BE AT HAND.\nstate\nIN THAT HOUR IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, THE LEGISLATURE\nWAS IN SESSION AND AN IMMEDIATE MOTION OF ADJOURNMENT\nWAS MADE, BUT THERE AROSE TO CHALLENGE THE MOTION ONE\nABRAHAM DAVENPORT, A GREAT YANKEE CITIZEN, AN INTIMATE\nFRIEND OF GEORGE WASHINGTON S. SAID DAVENPORT, \"EITHER\n-20-\nTHE END OF THE WORLD IS HERE OR IT IS NOT. IF IT IS NOT,\nTHERE IS NO NEED FOR ADJOURNMENT. IF IT IS, I CHOOSE\nTO BE FOUND DOING MY DUTY. I WISH, THEREFORE, THAT\nCANDLES MAY BE BROUGHT.\"\nTHROUGH THE AGES, THE DOING OF ONE'S DUTY HAS ALWAYS\nSEEMED A FORMIDABLE AND HARSH REQUIREMENT. IT CAN BE\nTHIS, OF COURSE. BUT, EQUALLY FOR YOU NOW, THE DOING OF\nYOUR DUTY AS A THINKING INDIVIDUAL WILL NOT ONLY ASSURE\nTHE PRESERVATION OF THIS NATION AND OF FREEDOM BUT WILL,\nI SUGGEST, BRING TO YOU THE GREATEST JOY AND FULFILLMENT\nAS A PERSON THAT YOU ARE EVER LIKELY TO KNOW.\n---END---\nGERALD 1848817\nRoturn\nCOMMENCEMENT ADDRESS WISCONSIN STATE UNIVERSITY . JUNE 3, 1966\nI love your town and I am happy to be here. It is the kind of\nplace that speaks to me of all America. What could be more American\nthan a slogan like \"Oshkosh, B'Gosh\" or \"We Cover the World.\" Some\npeople call them coveralls; some, overalls. To me, either word says\nOshkosh and the very best of America.\nThis is a great growing state university, and you are assembled\nhere together for the last time. Not one of you knows for sure just\nwhere you will be a year from now at this very hour.\nMy comments may well be the last words you will hear at this\nfine institution. What everyone is most interested in, however, are\nyour words and your thoughts and your goals as you leave and as you\ntravel on.\nMy theme today is simple. In an age when so much is said of\n\"togetherness,\" apartness deserves increasingly an emphasis of its\nown. No one can deny that \"togetherness\" -- unity -- is required\nfor strength and survival, for that of individuals, the community, and the\nnation. The seemingly chaotic events erupting in the world about us\nis\nmake this particularly clear. But N it not true also, that apart-\nness of the right kind, that is, placing an equal emphasis on the im-\nportance of the individual, is required for fulfillment and for progress?\nThe great problems are fundamentally individual problems. The\ngreat decisions must, therefore, initially be individual decisions.\nSensitivity, appreciation and comprehension are always, in the first\ninstance, qualities and functions of individual experience. The assembly\nGERALD LIBRARY\n-2-\nlines of modern education, as well as those of modern industry, and\njust conceivably those of modern politics, are quite capable of\nsweeping us past opportunities life offers us as individuals for\nmaking our own clear-headed, quiet decisions as to the course we wish\nto follow.\nI hope that in this respect you will not automatically color\nme Republican, although I am proud to be one. Respect for and em-\nphasis upon the importance of the individual is not a partisan nor\neven a political consideration. It has been the focus of attention\nand of emphasis by the greatest of the philosophers. It has been the\nintellectual requirement of the greatest of the teachers throughout\nthe ages. It has been the recurrent theme and the preachment of\nmembers of the cloth of all faiths since the dawning of time --- for we\nare indeed created in His sole and individual image and likeness.\nLet me at this point reassure you that, perhaps in a departure\nfrom the tradition of commencement addresses, it is not my intention\nto deplore, to discourage, or to despair. I do not believe, despite\nthe enormity of the problems we face, that they are insoluble. I do\nnot for a single second believe that your generation is either incapable\nof finding the solutions to many of them or unwilling to face the\nnecessity to do so. I cannot agree, I have never been able to agree, with\nthose who periodically look about them and view this as the worst of\nall possible worlds. Nor am I willing to concede that my generation,\nand those which preceded mine, have done as bad a job of it as many\ndolefully proclaim.\nFor example, the health of our people has been immeasurably en-\n-3-\nhanced through the genius of medical pioneers in the laboratories\nand with the patient. Educational facilities and methods have been im-\nproved beyond all the expectations of fifty years ago, through the\nconcerted action of educators, public administrators and enlightened\nholders of elected office. Working conditions and retirement and pen-\nsion provisions have been improved tremendously through the close\ncooperation of management, labor and political leadership. Civil rights --\nand civil liberties -- have, through vigorous bipartisan determination\nin the Congress and in our State legislatures, been multiplied and\nstrengthened remarkably in the past fifteen years alone.\nThat much remains to be done is undeniable, but that great oppor-\ntunities remain to be seized is crystal clear. To suggest or to main-\ntain that, in this awesome nuclear age, there can be neither hope nor\nconfidence is poppycock. Our days are no longer than those of our\nforefathers, our nights are no darker. And if there is an advantage\nthat is ours it lies in the fact that they stood so tall before us,\nstrode so confidently and maintained so well for us this Republic in\nwhich we live.\nI must confess that I find myself in the position of the man who,\nafter listening at length to some of the weightiest minds of his generation\ndespair as to the future, remarked innocently, \"I too am trying to be\nphilosophical about this world of ours, but I guess I just don't know\nhow. Cheerfulness keeps creeping in.\"\nFor me, cheerfulness keeps creeping in for many reasons:\n-- because of the young and vigorous strength and hope you here today\nrepresent,\n-- because of the infinite human, natural and industrial resources our\nFORD\nnation possesses,\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n-4-\n-- because we are now, as we have always been, \"involved in mankind.\"\nWe are determined to hold and justify our place of honor in the family\nof nations. Our place of strength and respect in the civilized history\nof man.\nWhen I speak, however, of the opportunity before you for personal\nsatisfaction, substantial achievement, and total fulfillment, I think\nwith equal weight of an obligation that is peculiarly and undeniably\nyours as members of a highly favored and greatly blessed segment of\nour society -- that of the educated man and woman.\nAs a member of the Congress, to be sure, but equally as a husband\nand a father and a working citizen, I see your opportunity and obliga-\ntion inextricably coupled in three specific areas of duty: the duty\nto think, the duty to vote, the duty to act.\nOf these three, the most important and the most difficult is that\nof the duty to think. For, despite the academic and intellectual ad-\nvantages that have been yours, the process of thinking as an individual,\nin total independence of outside influence and pressure, is perhaps the\nmost demanding that any man or woman faces.\nIn the world of politics today, at a time when politics is and\nwill evermore be everybody's business, you are charged as individuals by\nboth conscience and circumstance with the duty to think. This is the\nduty to examine issues in the greatest possible detail, to question the\nobvious -- both the obvious dogma and the obvious proclaimers of it --\nto ask yourself, quite by yourself, (1) whether this issue\nthat is\na valid one, (2) whether this candidate or that is the preferable one,\n(3) whether this viewpoint or that is an acceptable one. I urge in\nDERALD FORD LIBRARY\n-5-\nthis process to resist the pressure and the propaganda of prefabricated\ninfluence -- just possibly even that of your closest associates and\nfriends.\nThe importance of the individual is always dramatically illustrated\nby his use of the thinking-man's filter. Only by its individual and\ncoldly (or warmly) intellectual use can you arrive at opinions and de-\ncisions that are worthy of an inquiring mind.\nIn tandem with this duty to think, there of course comes your duty\nto vote. This, especially now, is a duty which, if not fulfilled, can\nrepresent disaster for you and yours, but which, if exercised can\nrepresent not only satisfaction but, I dare to say it, salvation.\nEdmund Burke's dictum still vibrates with truth: \"All that is required\nfor the triumph of evil is that good men shall do nothing.\" There is\nalso the appropriate quote from the great Italian poet, Dante, \"The\nhottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of great\nmoral crisis do nothing.\"\nDo you classify yourself as a liberal, a conservative, or as a\nmoderate walker-down-the-middle-of-the-road? Will you ask yourself this\nin consideration of each of the political issues of our time, as you pre-\npare to cast your votes on issues and for or against individuals? If\na liberal, will you be prepared to share the vehement partisanship\nwhich characterizes some of those at that far-out fringe of the political\nspectrum? Will you, as a prideful moderate, be satisfied to walk\ndelicately down the middle of the road, fearful of risk at either hand\nand hopeful that somehow your near-neutral position will, by itself,\nrepresent your best thought and your best vote?\n-6-\nThere are many citizens and voters nowadays, as in decades past,\nwho expect of their political representatives and leaders the vision to see\nthings, the judgment to see through things, the faith to see things\nthrough -- this is obviously an impossible idealism. At the very\nsame time, they expect and demand infinitely less of themselves, fully\ncontent to think briefly, if at all, to vote quickly, if at all, and to\nexpect miracles from the White House to the Court House.\nConversely, there are politicians and individuals, who down through\nthe years look expectantly to the electorate alone for guidance and direction,\nquite unwilling to risk andindividual opinion or conviction for fear\nof extinction at the polls.\nIt is required, you see, not alone of you but of our political\nleadership in all parties, that the importance of individual thought\nand truly individual voting be paramount, ever dominating group and\nparty and other pressure, whether of a political or intellectual or econ-\nomic kind.\nWhen, for example, there come before the Congress such issues of\na complex and perplexing nature as foreign aid, federal aid to education,\nreapportionment of Congressional districts, unemployment insurance,\nappropriations measures amounting to billions upon billions of dollars\nthat will effect the future of every family in the nation, there is re-\nquired of each member of the Congress the most intent, the most independent,\nthe best thought he can possible bring to the measure. There is required\nequally therefore, the finest possible representation in the Congress that\nyou, by your ballots, can produce.\nFinally, let me suggest that you have the duty to act continuingly\nBERALD FORD LIBRARA\n-7-\nin extension and fulfillment of your thinking and in justification of\nyour vote. Today's problems will be solved only by continuing thought\nand political, social, and economic action on the part of such as you.\nThey will be solved only by those who, having used their God-given re-\nsources of the mind and their freedom-born gift of the vote, are willing\nto work with unflagging interest and zeal to realize their individual\nand collective dreams.\nTo the image of the thinking-man's filter, let me add that of the\ndistillation of thought called wisdom, which must be its inevitable product.\nThis requires of you, as it has required increasingly of each generation,\nthat in one respect you be conservative and draw from the past the very\nbest it has to offer for application to today's and tomorrow's needs.\nIt requires of you similarly that you challenge both the obvious and\nthe devious, be prepared to entertain new ideas as they prove to you to\nbe true ideas, and to demand that both the proven and the promising be\nimplemented effectively for the public good.\nIn this effort you will encounter areas and forces of mementary\ndiscouragement. There are still those among us in public life and in\nprivate life who are carrying on ardent love affairs with the past and who\ncannot be moved from looking backward when we must look forward. This\nis pure Bourbonism -- not the kind you drink, but the kind you think.\nThe other principal factor and force in opposition to you is that of the\nLEFT\nradical, militant, which believes that increased reliance upon government\npaternalism and the security it promises is not only the wave, but the\nmagic wand of the future. Can a thinking man or woman rationally accept\nany such views, such philosophies, such panaceas? Let me remind you,\n-8-\na government big enough to give us everything we want is a government big\nenough to take from us everything we have.\nI urge upon you, therefore, a quiet consideration of the position\nand the power of the genuine moderate in our society. This is a position\nand a power respected through the ages by those who think, by those who\nare quite willing to hear and to assess the arguments of those at either\nend of the political spectrum, but who then and only then, with a fierce indi\nindividual pride of mind, determine for themselves what the next best move\nshould be.\nThe duty to think, the duty to vote, the duty to act -- these repre-\nsent your opportunity and your obligation as graduates of this university\nand citizens in this society. Failure to seize this opportunity and to\naccept this obligation will result inevitably in your leaving nothing but\nyour seat-prints on the sands of time. More importantly, it will contribute\nto the disintegration and destruction of all that has been given us of\nbeauty and goodness by those who have walked before.\nI am told by some that the alarms and fears of this awesome nuclear\nage (1) have discouraged countless of our young people, (2) have caused\ntheir hopes and dreams to wilt, and (3) have left them despondent and cynical\nas to any fulfillment whatsoever in the years to come. I do not believe\nthis for a moment, nor do you. If I did, I would have become despondent and\ncynical and would long since have ceaded to labor in the political vineyard\nfor those things in which I do so truly believe.\nI am not in the least discouraged. I refuse to despair. And I say\nto you fondly, but flatly, that you have no reason to do so either. In\nEdna St. Vincent Millay's superb phrasing, \"I know, but I do not approve\n-9-\nand I am not resigned.\"\nIt was in the year 1785, we are told, that a remarkable meteorological\nphenomenon occurred which one day at high noon blacked out the sun over\na large part of New England, leaving the area in a darkness as deep as\nthat of midnight. So sudden and so unusual was the occurence that chickens\nwent to roost, bats began to fly and the populace in many places ran panic-\nstricken through the streets, believing the end of the world to be at hand.\nIn that hour in Hartford, Connecticut, the State legislature was in\nsession and an immediate motion of adjournment was made, but there arose\nto challenge the motion one Abraham Davenport, a great Yankee citizen,\nan intimate friend of George Washington. Said Davenport, \"Either the\nend of the world is here or it is not. If it is not, there is no need\nfor adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish,\ntherefore, that candles may be brought.\"\nThrough the ages, the doing of one's duty has always seemed a formidable\nand harsh requirement. It can be this, of course. But, equally for\nyou now, the doing of your duty as a thinking individual will not only assure\nthe preservation of this nation and of freedom but will, I suggest,\nbring to you the greatest joy and fulfillment as a person that you are\never likely to know.\n-- END--\nGERNID R.FORD"
}