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The original documents are located in Box D34, folder "61st Annual Sunday Session
Meeting, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, April 29, 1973" of the Ford
Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential
Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
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copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
IDEAS FOR PATRIOTIC SPEECH TO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 1973.
1.
Talk about Maj. Joseph Shanahan of Kentwood and the program in his honor
April 13 at East Kentwood High Auditorium. From story in G.R. Press, describe the
stmosphere and how it inspired feelings of pride in America and in men like
Shanahan and all the other Americans who served SO bravely in Vietnam.
2.
Talk about defense
about the need to keep America strong in order to keep
the peace
about Nixon achievements in foreign policy and how none of these
succe sses would have come about if the President had been placed in the position
of negotiating from weakne SS
how any future diplomatic gains will be realized
only if we can negotiate from a position of strength.
3.
Talk about Jane Fonda
(I wouldn't mention
Ramsey Clark
he has back-pedalled).
And ask your question whether they
(the audience) agree with Jane Fonda or
with the American PUW's.
4.
Talk about
your opposition to
amnesty
that you feel it
ould
be
an
affront to the men who served in Vietnam to simply forgive and forget the
of
deserters and draft-dodgers.
actions
5. Talk about the need for a new resurgence of national pride in America
the
need to emphasize what is right about Ameri mot to ignore any problems or
sweep 'em under the rug but simply to be affirmative in viewing what we have
while seeking to make right whatever is wrong. So much is right about America
that regardless of any failings it is still the greatest and the finest country
in which to live, with the best government ever devised
by the mind of man.
Digitized from Box D34 of the Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WASHINGTON HILTON,
WASHINGTON, D.C., SUNDAY, APRIL 29,
1973.
shift
smother
^
WE HAVE THE IDEA THAT ALL OF
OUR PROBLEMS TODAY ARE UNIQUE. MANY
BELIEVE THAT WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE HAS NO
BEARING ON TODAY. OLD GUIDELINES NO LONGER
APPLY, THEY SAY. TODAY IS DIFFERENT.
BUT IS IT? BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE MONEY
FLOATING AROUND. / BECAUSE WE HAVE A BEWILDER-
ING ARRAY OF GOODS AND SERVICES AT OUR
BECK AND CALL. / BECAUSE WE HAVE FEDERAL
PROGRAMS, STATE PROGRAMS, GRANTS, LOANS,
INSURANCE AND A HOST OF OTHER SCHEMES AND
PLANS LITTLE DREAMED OF BY THOSE WHO GAVE
THIS NATION ITS START -- DOES ALL THAT
MEAN THAT ALL THE OLD VALUES ARE
DROSS? HARDLY. OUR PROBLEMS MAY HAVE
-2-
CHANGED TO SOME EXTENT, BUT PEOPLE ARE
STILL PEOPLE, AND PRINCIPLES REMAIN AS
INVIOLATE AND AS MUCH A BEACON FOR OUR
GUIDANCE AS EVER. YOU THINK OUR PROBLEMS
ARE UNIQUE. LISTEN TO THIS QUOTE:
"THERE ARE PERSONS WHO CONSTANTLY CLAMOR.
THEY COMPLAIN OF OPPRESSION, SPECULATION,
AND PERNICIOUS INFLUENCE OF WEALTH. THEY
CRY OUT LOUDLY AGAINST ALL BANKS AND
CORPORATIONS, AND A MEANS BY WHICH SMALL
CAPITALISTS BECOME UNITED IN ORDER TO
PRODUCE IMPORTANT AND BENEFICIAL RESULTS.
THEY CARRY ON MAD HOSTILITY AGAINST ALL
ESTABLISHED INSTITUTIONS. THEY WOULD
CHOKE THE FOUNTAIN OF INDUSTRY AND DRY ALL
STREAMS." IS THIS SPIRO AGNEW TALKING
ABOUT THE RADICAL LEFT? NO IT IS DANIEL
WEBSTER, SPEAKING BACK IN 1838 BEFORE THE
U. S. SENATE.
-3-
TODAY, JUST AS IN WEBSTER'S TIME,
WE HAVE THOSE WHO ATTACK OUR SYSTEM,
DOWNGRADE OUR INSTITUTIONS, CRITICIZE AND
RIDICULE OUR INDUSTRIAL MIGHT AND
UNDERMINE OUR DEFENSES.
LET'S TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK AT
AMERICA -- WHAT'S RIGHT WITH AMERICA. I
THINK TOO MANY OF US SOMETIME CANNOT SEE
THE FOREST FOR THE TREES. WE ARE
SUBJECTED TO SUCH A CONSTANT BARRAGE OF
COMPLAINT, PROTEST, DISSENT, VITRIOLIC
ATTACK, SNEERS AND DENIGRATION THAT WE MAY
BE INCLINED TO FORGET JUST WHAT KIND OF
COUNTRY WE HAVE BUILT -- YOU OF THE OLDER
GENERATION, THOSE OF TODAY'S GENERATION,
AND THOSE WHO WILL PROVIDE THE LEADERSHIP
FOR TOMORROW'S AMERICA.
LET'S HIT SOME OF THE HIGH SPOTS.
/
-4-
WE ALL KNOW ABOUT OUR TRILLION-DOLLAR
ECONOMY -- A SUM SO VAST THAT IT CANNOT
HAVE MUCH MEANING -- EXCEPT THAT IF YOU
STRUNG ONE TRILLION DOLLAR BILLS TOGETHER
THEY WOULD REACH TO THE MOON SOME
23,000 MILES AWAY, NEARLY 400 TIMES.
WE WILL ADD TO OUR PRODUCTION OF GOODS AND
SERVICES THIS YEAR MORE THAN THE ENTIRE
ECONOMY OF ITALY.
THIS IS MORE THAN EVER / THE
LAND
OF OPPORTUNITY. SINCE WORLD WAR II ALONE,
WE HAVE INCREASED COLLEGE ATTENDANCE FROM
2.1 MILLION TO 9.4 MILLION AND ONLY
1 PER CENT OF OUR ENTIRE POPULATION TODAY
IS ILLITERATE. WE WILL SPEND $97.6 BILLION
ON EDUCATION AT ALL LEVELS THIS YEAR ALONE.
EDUCATION NO LONGER IS THE PRIVILEGE OF
THE RICH, BUT THE ATTAINABLE GOAL OF
-5-
ANY AMERICAN WHO WANTS TO WORK FOR IT.
FEDERAL GRANTS, LOAN PROGRAMS, SCHOLARSHIPS,
FOUNDATION GRANTS, GI BENEFITS -- ALL BRING
EDUCATION WITHIN REACH OF MORE YOUNG PEOPLE
TODAY THAN AT ANY TIME IN OUR HISTORY.
SINCE WORLD WAR 11, WE'VE ADDED
5 YEARS TO THE HUMAN LIFESPAN. THE DEATH
OF NEWBORN BABIES HAS has droppet DROPPED 44 PER CENT,
AND MATERNAL DEATH RATE, 76 PER CENT. THE
NUMBER OF AMERICANS COVERED BY HEALTH
INSURANCE HAS GONE FROM 42 MILLION TO
183 MILLION. WHILE OUR POPULATION WAS
GOING UP 67 PER CENT, WE HAD A JUMP OF
335 PER CENT IN HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
TWICE AS MANY AMERICANS OWN THEIR
OWN HOMES TODAY -- SOME 40 MILLION OF US.
AUTOMOBILE OWNERSHIP IS UP 130 PER CENT
AND WHETHER OR NOT YOU REGARD IT AS A
-6-
BLESSING, OF THE HOMES WIRED FOR ELECTRICITY,
96 PER CENT HAVE AT LEAST ONE TV SET AND
MORE THAN 43 PER CENT HAVE COLOR TV
AMERICAN FAMILIES HAVE $448 BILLION
IN THE BANK, AND PERSONAL INCOME HAS RISEN
TO $935 BILLION. WE HAVE MORE PROGRAMS TO
FEED THE POOR, TAKE CARE OF THE DESTITUTE,
TRAIN THE UNSKILLED AND LOOK AFTER THE
ELDERLY. WE HAVE MASS TRANSIT, AIRPORT
IMPROVEMENT AND THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM.
ALL IN ALL, THERE ARE MORE THAN
ONE THOUSAND FEDERAL PROGRAMS ALONE THAT
SEE TO THE WANTS AND ASPIRATIONS OF
AMERICANS OF ALL RACES, CREEDS AND AGES.
WITH ALL THIS GOING FOR US, WHY ARE THERE
WAILS OF DISCONTENT? I THINK IT CAN BE
SUMMED UP BY THE PHRASE "TOO MUCH, TOO SOON."
WE HAVE BECOME INUNDATED WITH MATERIAL
-7- Maybe can while no little we had much,
BLESSINGS WITHOUT A PARALLEL DEVELOPMENT
OF OUR AWARENESS, AND WITHOUT A GROWTH OF
UNDERSTANDING AND SPIRITUAL BACKGROUND.
WE HEAR CRIES OF "FREEDOM NOW!"
FREEDOM FROM WHAT? FROM A REPUBLIC THAT
OFFERS HELP TO ALL LEVELS OF ITS SOCIETY?
FROM A GOVERNMENT THAT GIVES EVERY CITIZEN
THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE TO CHANGE ANY OF
ITS INSTITUTIONS -- FROM THE SMALLEST
HAMLET TO THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ITSELF?
FREEDOM FROM JUSTICE UNMATCHED ANYWHERE
IN THE WORLD? THE WAS INTERESTING TO NOTE
THAT EVEN WHEN ANGELA DAVIS WAS FREED BY
OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM THE CARPERS WERE NOT
SATISFIED, DECLARING THAT SHE NEVER SHOULD
HAVE BEEN TRIED AT ALL
DO THEY WANT FREEDOM FROM
OPPORTUNITY -- UNSURPASSED BY ANY OTHER
-8-
NATION ON EARTH
?
JUST WHAT DO THEY WANT
FREEDOM FROM
?
I KNOW THAT MANY ARE NOT
SHARING IN OUR ABUNDANCE IN THE MEASURE
EBut
ala
THAT THEY EXPECT. WE ARE WORKING ON THIS
MEANWHILE, WE ARE HELPING THEM GET THE
NECESSITIES OF LIFE. POVERTY TODAY IN
AMERICA IS A MATTER OF DEGREE. OUR POOR
LIVE BETTER THAN THE SO-CALLED MIDDLE CLASS
IN MANY NATIONS. BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT IS
NOT GOOD ENOUGH. WE KNOW THAT OUR GOAL IS
A DECENT LIFE, AND UNBOUNDED OPPORTUNITY
TO MAKE SOMETHING OF ONESELF FOR EVERY
AMERICAN. IT IS A GOAL. IT CANNOT BE
WHIPPED UP LIKE A MILKSHAKE. IT MUST BE
EARNED.
I DO NOT VIEW TODAY'S DISSENT
WITH THE ALARM THAT MANY PROFESS. I HAVE
MORE FAITH IN OUR SYSTEM THAN THAT.
-9-
LIKE TRUE LOVE, THE COURSE OF REAL FREEDOM
NEVER HAS RUN SMOOTH. [AUGUST AUGUST HECKSHER
ONCE SAID: "IN ONE SENSE, FREEDOM IS ALWAYS
IN CRISIS, JUST AS BEAUTY IS, AND HONOR AND
TRUTH ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH MAN HAS MADE
FOR HIMSELF AS A GARMENT AGAINST THE
EVER PRESENT BLASTS OF THE BARBARIAN SPIRIT." "
I DO BELIEVE THAT MANY WHO DISSENT--
AND I DON'T MEAN THE HARD-CORE SUBVERSIVES
WHO HATE AMERICA, BUT THOSE WHO CODDLE AND
SYMPATHIZE WITH THESE RADICAL DISSENTERS --
SHOULD LOOK DEEPER INTO WHAT THIS KIND OF
CONDUCT EXEMPLIFIES. IT IS NOT INDEPENDENCE.
CONTEMPT FOR LAW IS STUPIDITY, NOT
INDEPENDENCE. USE OF DEADLY DRUGS IS FOLLY,
NOT INDEPENDENCE.
TRUE INDEPENDENCE IN AMERICA
GIVES EVERYONE THE RIGHT TO WORK WITHIN
-10-
THE SYSTEM. NO BETTER FORM OF GOVERNMENT
EVER HAS BEEN LAID BEFORE THE PEOPLE.
CHANGE CAN BE WORKED, BUT NOT BY TYRANNICAL
MINORITY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PUBLIC AT
LARGE. DEBATE OFFERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
MAKE DIVERGENT VIEWS CLEARLY DEFINED. THE
VOTE GIVES US THE DECISION POWER -- FREE AND
UNFETTERED UNINFLUENCED AND UNREGIMENTED.
I HAVE OUTLINED ONLY BRIEFLY
HERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE RIGHT
ABOUT AMERICA.
THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA IS
NOT DEAD. IT LIVES WITHIN US. WE MUST NOT
LET THE SOPHISTRY OF THE MALCONTENTS BLUR
OUR CLEAR VISION OF JUST HOW WONDERFUL IT
IS TO BE AN AMERICAN. WE MUST NOT ALLOW
OURSELVES TO BE DELUDED THAT BECAUSE WE
ARE NOT PERFECT WE ARE NOT BASICALLY GOOD.
WE MUST NOT ALLOW THOSE WHO HAVE
-11-
WANDERED FROM THE PATHS OF COMMON
SENSE INTO THE QUICKSANDS OF IMMORALITY
AND LAWLESSNESS TO CLOUD OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY ON AN EVEN KEEL. WE
MUST NOT ALLOW THE INTEMPERANCE OF THEIR
ACTIONS TO DIMINISH OUR UNDERSTANDING AND
STRIVING FOR THE RIGHT.
Lit me close with
-- END --
W inston
Two
Churchell / Democracy is the worst form
of good in bestory but it is
better than anything that has, been Food before.
about ago. 200yrs
Ben Franklin MONARCHY / What have you given us - a
monanty n a Ripublic
a Republic, if you are writ enough +
can help it.
2 have me year -We story and enough not sumbine to keep. it. patrots y Nummer
WE
n OFFICE copy
61st Annual Sunday Session Meeting of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, April 29, 1973.
Thank you very, very much, Mr. Davis. It is a very high honor and a very
great privilege for me to participate in this program, "A Salute to America," for
the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Davis, I thank you very greatly for that kind introduction. I have
some grave doubts that I'm the man you have described, but it was very nice to
hear what you had to say.
Just a few weeks ago, I and literally millions of Americans had the
exhilarating and thrilling experience of watching on television the return of
some 500-plus American prisoners of war who had come back after many years of
suffering mental and physical torture, hardship, privation. It was obvious to
me as it was to all of you that they have never lost their faith in God, their
family, and their country.
I reacted as most Americans did. I was proud of them. They stood tall and
they spoke out. They embraced their loved ones. They offered prayers for their
return, and some actually kissed the soil upon which they had returned. These brave
and heroic men who have spent five, six, seven years in the hands of the enemy
under the worst kind of conditions, to me represented the very best in America.
What they have gone through we're slowly learning. It's not a pretty
story. In time perhaps we'll even hear worse than what we've heard so far. But
one, myself or you, couldn't help but feel they were the patriots of this decade.
And we were proud of them, but even happier that they're back. They have done as
much in this day and age as other legendary heroes--Paul Revere and those that
followed. I suspect that their deeds and their words will live far longer and
far more favorably in the pages of history than those of such as Jane Fonda and
Tom Hayden.
But what about ourselves? What have we, you and I, done in the six and
seven years that they've been gone?
While our POW's were gone we have seen some very sharp changes in America,
in the fabric of our society, in the things that we have done or have failed to
do. We have seen hair grow longer on our youth. We've seen riots on our campuses
and in our streets. We've seen the heavy hand of government reach longer and
perhaps more restrictively. We often seem to have forgotten that a government
big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from
us everything we have.
Page 2
During this span of time, short to us but long to a POW, we haven't
done too well. For example, our national participation in the electoral
process has gone down. In 1960, it was something over 62 per cent of those eligible
to vote. In '68 it was less. And in '72 it was even less--55 per cent. It's not
a very good record. We should be embarrassed as we look at the sacrifices they
made while we did less.
The nation they left was still our society, and it's our society today.
Philosophically we still have freedom and individuality. But I raise the question:
Do we have enough dedication and discipline?
Let me shift gears for just a moment if I might. We have the idea that
all of our problems today are unique. Many believe that what has gone before
has no bearing on today. Old guidelines are no longer applicable, they say.
Today is different. But is it?
Because we have more money floating around; because we have a bewildering
array of goods and services at our beck and call; because we have federal programs,
state programs, grants, loans, insurance, and a host of other schemes and plans
little dreamed of by those who gave this nation its start; does that all mean that
old values are unimportant and invalid? Hardly. Our problems may have changed
to some extent, but people are still people. And principles remain as inviolate
and as much a beacon for our guidance as ever.
You think our problems are unique in the 1970's? Listen for a moment
this quotation: "There are persons who constantly clamor, they complain of
oppression, speculation and pernicious influence of wealth. They cry out loudly
against all banks and corporations as a means by which small capitalists become
united in order to produce important and beneficial results. They carry on mad
hostility against all established institutions. They would choke the fountain
of industry and dry all streams." Is this Vice President Agnew talking about
the radical left? No. It's Daniel Webster speaking back in 1835 before the
United States Senate. Today, just as in Webster's time, we have those who attack
our system, downgrade our institutions, criticize and ridicule our industrial
might, and undermine our defenses.
Let's take a moment to look at America. What's right with America? I
think too many of us sometimes cannot see the forest for the trees. We are
Page 3
subjected to such a constant barrage of complaint, protest, dissent, vitriolic
attacks, snears and denigration that we may be inclined to forget just what kind of
a country we have built.
You of the older generation, those of today's generation, and those who will
provide the leadership for tomorrow's America, let's hit some of the high spots.
We all know about our trillion-dollar economy. A sum so vast that it cannot have
much meaning to most people, except that if you strung one trillion dollar bills
together, they would reach to the moon some 23,000 miles away nearly 400 times.
We will add to our production of goods and services this year more than the entire
economy of Italy.
This is more than ever the land of opportunity. Since World War II alone,
we have increased college attendance from two million to nine million. And only
one per cent of our entire populationtoday is illiterate. We will spend almost
$98 billion on education at all levels in this year of 1973. Education is no
longer the privilege of the rich but the attainable goal of any American who wants
to work for it. Federal grants, loan programs, scholarships, foundation grants,
GI benefits, all bring education within reach of more young people today than at
any other time in our Nation's history.
Since World War II we've added five years to the human life span in America.
The death of new-born babies has dropped 44 per cent, and the maternal death rate
has dropped 76 per cent. The number of Americans covered by health insurance
has gone from 42 million to 183 million. Whileoour population has gone up 67 per
cent we had a jump of 335 per cent in health care coverage. Twice as many
Americans own their own homes today--some 40 million of us. American families
have $448 billion in the bank, and personal income has risen to $935 billion.
We have more programs to feed the poor, take care of the destitute, train
the unskilled and look after the elderly. We have mass transit, airport improvement,
and interstate highway systems. All in all, there are more than 1,000 federal
programs that see to the wants and the aspirations of Americans of all races,
creeds and colors.
With all of this going for us, why are there wails of discontent in America?
I think it can be summed up by the phrase, "too much too soon. We have been
inundated with material blessings without a parallel development of our awareness,
without a growth of understanding in spiritual background. Maybe we can learn
Page 4
something from our prisoners of war who had so little while we had so much.
We hear cries of "freedom now." Freedom from what? From a republic that
offers help to all levels of society? From a government that gives every citizen
the opportunity to vote to change any of its institutions, from the smallest hamlet
to the national government itself? Freedom from justice unmatched anywhere in
the world? Do they want freedom from opportunity unsurpassed by any other nation
on the earth?
I know that many are not sharing in our abundance in the measure that they
expect. We are working on this. But they must work also. Meanwhile we are
helping them to get the necessities of life. Poverty today in America is a matter
of degree. Our poor live better than the so-called middle classes in many nations.
But we know that that is not good enough. We know that our goal is a decent
life--an unbounded opportunity to make something of ourselves for every American.
It is a goal. It cannot be whipped up like a milkshake. It must be earned.
I do not view today's dissent with the alarm that many profess. I have
more faith in our system than that. Like true love, the course of real freedom
has never run smoothly.
I do believe that many who dissent--and I don't mean the hard-core
subversives who hate America, but those who coddle and sympathize with the radical
dissenters--should look deeper into what it is this kind of conduct exemplifies.
It is not independence. Contempt for law is stupidity, not independence. Use
of deadly drugs is folly, not independence.
True independence in America gives everyone the right to work within the
system. No better form of government has ever been laid before the people. Change
nic
can be worked, but not by the tyrangial minority at the expense of the public at
large. Debate offers the opportunity to make divergent views clearly defined. The
vote gives us the decision power--free, unfettered, uninfluenced and unregmented.
The spirit of America is not dead. It lives within us. We must not let
the sophistry of the malcontents blur our clear vision of just how wonderful it
deluded-
is to be in America. We must not allow ourselves to be that because we
are not perfect we are not basically good. We must not allow those who have
wandered from the paths of common sense into the quicksands of immorality and
lawlessness to cloud our responsibilitiA to keep our nation on an even keel.
We must not allow the intemperance of their actions to diminish our understanding
Page 5
and our striving for the right.
Let me close with just two quotes. A great statesman, Sir Winston
Churchill, once said: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except that
it's better than anything that's been tried before."
And then some 200 years ago about 55 elected representatives to the
Constitutional Convention met in the city of Philadelphia from May 'til
September, and they labored long and hard to put together a document for a new
nation. And after many compromises, preceded by arguments pro and con on this
issue and that, they concluded their labors. According to the story, Ben
Franklin, who was one of the delegates, left the hall. And as he came to the
street he was accosted by a bystander. The bystander asked him the question:
"Mr. Franklin, what have you given us? A monarchy or a republic?" And Mr. Franklin
replied, "We have given you a republic if you can keep it."
I'm an optimist. I believe that we are not sunshine soldiers and summer
patriots. We love America. Thank you very much.
###
O OFFICE COPY
61st Annual Sunday Session Meeting of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, April 29, 1973.
Thank you very, very much, Mr. Davis. It is a very high honor and a very
great privilege for me to participate in this program, "A Salute to America,' for
the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Davis, I thank you very greatly for that kind introduction. I have
some grave doubts that I'm the man you have described, but it was very nice to
hear what you had to say.
Just a few weeks ago, I and literally millions of Americans had the
exhilarating and thrilling experience of watching on television the return of
some 500-plus American prisoners of war who had come back after many years of
suffering mental and physical torture, hardship, privation. It was obvious to
me as it was to all of you that they have never lost their faith in God, their
family, and their country.
I reacted as most Americans did. I was proud of them. They stood tall and
they spoke out. They embraced their loved ones. They offered prayers for their
return, and some actually kissed the soil upon which they had returned. These brave
and heroic men who have spent five, six, seven years in the hands of the enemy
under the worst kind of conditions, to me represented the very best in America.
What they have gone through we're slowly learning. It's not a pretty
story. In time perhaps we'll even hear worse than what we've heard so far. But
one, myself or you, couldn't help but feel they were the patriots of this decade.
And we were proud of them, but even happier that they're back. They have done as
much in this day and age as other legendary heroes--Paul Revere and those that
followed. I suspect that their deeds and their words will live far longer and
far more favorably in the pages of history than those of such as Jane Fonda and
Tom Hayden.
But what about ourselves? What have we, you and I, done in the six and
seven years that they've been gone?
While our POW's were gone we have seen some very sharp changes in America,
in the fabric of our society, in the things that we have done or have failed to
do. We have seen hair grow longer ON our youth. We've seen riots on our campuses
and in our streets. We've seen the heavy hand of government reach longer and
perhaps more restrictively. We often seem to have forgotten that a government
big enough to give us everything we want is a government big enough to take from
us everything we have.
GERALD R
Page 2
During this span of time, short to us but long to a POW, we haven't
done too well. For example, our national participation in the electoral
process has gone down. In 1960, it was something over 62 per cent of those eligible
to vote. In '68 it was less. And in '72 it was even less--55 per cent. It's not
a very good record. We should be embarrassed as we look at the sacrifices they
made while we did less.
The nation they left was still our society, and it's our society today.
Philosophically we still have freedom and individuality. But I raise the question:
Do we have enough dedication and discipline?
Let me shift gears for just a moment if I might. We have the idea that
all of our problems today are unique. Many believe that what has gone before
has no bearing on today. Old guidelines are no longer applicable, they say.
Today is different. But is it?
Because we have more money floating around; because we have a bewildering
array of goods and services at our beck and call; because we have federal programs,
state programs, grants, loans, insurance, and a host of other schemes and plans
little dreamed of by those who gave this nation its start; does that all mean that
old values are unimportant and invalid? Hardly. Our problems may have changed
to some extent, but people are still people. And principles remain as inviolate
and as much a beacon for our guidance as ever.
You think our problems are unique in the 1970's? Listen for a moment
to
this quotation: "There are persons who constantly clamor, they complain of
oppression, speculation and pernicious influence of wealth. They cry out loudly
against all banks and corporations as a means by which small capitalists become
united in order to produce important and beneficial results. They carry on mad
hostility against all established institutions. They would choke the fountain
of industry and dry all streams." Is this Vice President Agnew talking about
the radical left? No. It's Daniel Webster speaking back in 1835 before the
United States Senate. Today, just as in Webster's time, we have those who attack
our system, downgrade our institutions, criticize and ridicule our industrial
might, and undermine our defenses.
Let's take a moment to look at America. What's right with America? I
think too many of us sometimes cannot see the forest for the trees. We are
LIBRARY
Page 3
subjected to such a constant barrage of complaint, protest, dissent, vitriolic
attacks, snears and denigration that we may be inclined to forget just what kind of
a country we have built.
You of the older generation, those of today's generation, and those who will
provide the leadership for tomorrow's America, let's hit some of the high spots.
We all know about our trillion-dollar economy. A sum so vast that it cannot have
much meaning to most people, except that if you strung one trillion dollar bills
together, they would reach to the moon some 23,000 miles away nearly 400 times.
We will add to our production of goods and services this year more than the entire
economy of Italy.
This is more than ever the land of opportunity. Since World War II alone,
we have increased college attendance from two million to nine million. And only
one per cent of our entire populationtoday is illiterate. We will spend almost
$98 billion on education at all levels in this year of 1973. Education is no
longer the privilege of the rich but the attainable goal of any American who wants
to work for it. Federal grants, loan programs, scholarships, foundation grants,
GI benefits, all bring education within reach of more young people today than at
any other time in our Nation's history.
Since World War II we've added five years to the human life span in America.
The death of new-born babies has dropped 44 per cent, and the maternal death rate
has dropped 76 per cent. The number of Americans covered by health insurance
has gone from 42 million to 183 million. While our population has gone up 67 per
cent we had a jump of 335 per cent in health care coverage. Twice as many
Americans own their own homes today--some 40 million of us. American families
have $448 billion in the bank, and personal income has risen to $935 billion.
We have more programs to feed the poor, take care of the destitute, train
the unskilled and look after the elderly. We have mass transit, airport improvement,
and interstate highway systems. All in all, there are more than 1,000 federal
programs that see to the wants and the aspirations of Americans of all races,
creeds and colors.
With all of this going for us, why are there wails of discontent in America?
I think it can be summed up by the phrase, "too much too soon." We have been
inundated with material blessings without a parallel development of our awareness,
without a growth of understanding in spiritual background. Maybe we can learn
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something from our prisoners of war who had so little while, we had so much.
We hear cries of "freedom now." Freedom from what? From a republic that
offers help to all levels of society? From a government that gives every citizen
the opportunity to vote to change any of its institutions, from the smallest hamlet
to the national government itself? Freedom from justice unmatched anywhere in
the world? Do they want freedom from opportunity unsurpassed by any other nation
on the earth?
I know that many are not sharing in our abundance in the measure that they
expect. We are working on this. But they must work also. Meanwhile we are
helping them to get the necessities of life. Poverty today in America is a matter
of degree. Our poor live better than the so-called middle classes in many nations.
But we know that that is not good enough. We know that our goal is a decent
life--an unbounded opportunity to make something of ourselves for every American.
It is a goal. It cannot be whipped up like a milkshake. It must be earned.
I do not view today's dissent with the alarm that many profess. I have
more faith in our system than that. Like true love, the course of real freedom
has never run smoothly.
I do believe that many who dissent--and I don't mean the hard-core
subversives who hate America, but those who coddle and sympathize with the radical
dissenters--should look deeper into what it is this kind of conduct exemplifies.
It is not independence. Contempt for law is stupidity, not independence. Use
of deadly drugs is folly, not independence.
True independence in America gives everyone the right to work within the
system. No better form of government has ever been laid before the people. Change
can be worked, but not by the tyrancial minority at the expense of the public at
large. Debate offers the opportunity to make divergent views clearly defined. The
vote gives us the decision power--free, unfettered, uninfluenced and unregmented.
The spirit of America is not dead. It lives within us. We must not let
the sophistry of the malcontents blur our clear vision of just how wonderful it
deluded
is to be in America. We must not allow ourselves to be
that because we
are not perfect we are not basically good. We must not allow those who have
wandered from the paths of common sense into the quicksands of immorality and
lawlessness to cloud our responsibilities to keep our nation on an even keel.
We must not allow the intemperance of their actions to diminish our understanding
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and our striving for the right.
Let me close with just two quotes. A great statesman, Sir Winston
Churchill, once said: "Democracy is the worst form of government, except that
it's better than anything that's been tried before."
And then some 200 years ago about 55 elected representatives to the
Constitutional Convention met in the city of Philadelphia from May 'til
September, and they labored long and hard to put together a document for a new
nation. And after many compromises, preceded by arguments pro and con on this
issue and that, they concluded their labors. According to the story, Ben
Franklin, who was one of the delegates, left the hall. And as he came to the
street he was accosted by a bystander. The bystander asked him the question:
"Mr. Franklin, what have you given us? A monarchy or a republic?" And Mr, Franklin
replied, "We have given you a republic if you can keep it."
I'm an optimist. I believe that we are not sunshine soldiers and summer
patriots. We love America. Thank you very much.
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