June 29, 1970
Page 21926
SENATOR MUSKIE SPEAKS ON PATRIOTISM
Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. President, patriotism is a subject which is discussed a great deal today, but few define what it really means and what it must mean if we are to survive as a nation united.
The able Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE), who, through his long and distinguished period of service in war and in peace, is well qualified to speak on this subject, gave us such a definition in two speeches last week in his home State. I commend these speeches to the attention of the Senate and ask unanimous consent that they be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the speeches were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
Excerpts from the Remarks of Senator EDMUND S. MUSKIE at Lawrence High School, American Legion, Department of Maine,
Fairfield, Maine,
June 19, 1970
Little more than half a century ago, a group of citizen-soldiers met in Paris. They were weary of war.
They were passionately devoted to their country across the Atlantic. And they formed an organization to which we now proudly belong, based on the values they shared together ... of liberty ... of comradeship . . . of peace.
Now as in 1919, many Americans, at home and abroad, are weary of war.
Now, as then, most Americans are passionately devoted to their country.
And now; it is again incumbent on us, especially those of us who have witnessed and felt the pain of war, to affirm those values we share together.
Some eighteen years ago, Adlai Stevenson spoke to the Legion in New York City. I believe that what he stated then is most timely today.
“It was", he said, "always accounted a virtue in a man to love his country. With us it is now something more than a virtue. It is a necessary condition of survival. When an American says that he loves his country, he means not only that he loves the New England hills, the prairies glistening in the sun, the wide and rising plains, the great mountains, and the sea. He means that he loves an inner air, an inner light in which freedom lives and in which a man can draw a breath of self-respect. Men who have offered their lives for their countries know that patriotism is not the fear of something: It is the love of something."
There should be no doubt, then, that members of this Legion do love this land ... the dream of America as well as the opportunity of America.
You have left these shores when called to do so.
You have gone to battle, in the honest belief that by doing so you would help defend liberty and promote justice.
And you have returned, when the guns were silenced, to work the land ... to engage in commerce ... to practice a profession . . . and to enjoy freedom.
You did not fight for personal gain. . . for mere adventure ... or for imperial conquest. But you fought to bring peace as quickly as possible, not only for your own security, but for that of your children.
And now many of you are puzzled, and perhaps even angered, by your children, or your children's children . . . by the length of their hair ... the cut of their clothes ... or the sound of their voices.
I believe that these symbols of youth are not cause for alarm ... for vindictive words . . or for violent acts. Because I believe that, in substance, the vast majority of our young people want to improve America, not to reject her. They want America to be united, not insecure. They want to be proud of America, not disheartened about her.
And although many of them may sincerely believe that the war is wrong – that it is not worthy of what we helped to preserve and to build ... they would, I am convinced, strongly defend America if America herself were threatened by force of arms.
Bear in mind that many of these young people will not reach the ages of many of us here, until after the year 2,000. A spread of more than thirty years. And thirty years in this rapidly changing world is the equivalent of centuries in an earlier time. The changes which have taken place make it possible for man to know more, to accumulate knowledge more rapidly, to travel at greater speeds, to reach out into the heavens, to build more complex and impersonal institutions, to destroy our natural environment – and to destroy himself. Our young people must live with these changes longer than we will – more than that – they will have to live with the even more awesome changes which will surely come. What they are concerned about is whether it will be possible for human beings to be human in such a world. They are afraid that, as a consequence, they will lose what you fought to preserve.
The basic devotion to America which they share with us is the same whether they are in school or in a distant jungle . . . and it is not meant to contradict or challenge the values we love in America.
Their patriotism, like ours, is based on those American instincts of cooperation, fairness, tolerance and understanding which are more important than differences in age, in occupation, or political persuasion.
Their patriotism, like ours, is directed toward positive goals ... of freedom and security ... and mutual respect.
Their patriotism, like ours, can do America great honor.
That is why I believe America is not the place, and 1970 is not the time, for any of us to escape behind our own personal point of view, and call it the only true patriotism.
Instead, patriotism requires us all to have the courage to talk sensibly to each other ... to refrain from senseless rage ... to try crossing the borders which seem to divide us. It requires a capacity to understand the feelings of others whose views on a particular issue may be different ... who respect the flag for what it means to them ... who believe in America, but not in the war.
I believe we can practice this patriotism ... we can approach the future together ... we can shape a whole society ... but we must try to reach out to young Americans, to trust their sincerity, and their patriotism. I know that we can.
For, as the preamble to the constitution of this American Legion clearly sets forth, you have undertaken a splendid commitment, "... to make right the master of might; to promote peace and good will on earth; to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy; to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness."
That spirit of mutual helpfulness must govern our relations with each other – or we will be nothing – all that we stand for destroyed in the flames of suspicion, distrust and hatred.
To avoid that result we need the help of every American who has faith in peace and tolerance – who is willing to talk to his fellow man.
You will recall that the preamble to our Constitution was as humble as it was eloquent – that it sought to offer, not paradise but a "more perfect Union".
A "more perfect Union" requires strict fidelity, by the Government and by the people, to the constitutional rights of free, open and non-violent expression.
It has been said: "The crucial ingredient in a democracy is the identification of the instinctual trust that flows in thousands of minute and invisible currents through a society. It is this that makes a man feel that he belongs, that allows him to live at ease with his fellows without having to be watchful, competitive and tough".
That is the America we fought to preserve. That is the kind of America young people want.
Excerpts from the Remarks of Senator EDMUND S. MUSKIE at Caribou High School Commencement,
Caribou, Maine,
June 19, 1970
This is not a night for long speeches.
It is a night to complete the work you have been doing in high school. Whether you have done it well enough to serve your needs in the years ahead, you yourselves will know in due course.
It is a night to begin the work of the rest of your lives. Inasmuch as that will be primarily your responsibility, we might better leave you to your own thoughts and reflections.
And yet, it is not enough to leave you to yourselves on such a night.
You are a product of this town and this region and its people. They are responsible, in large part, for what you are – and what you will contribute to your own lives, to your children, and to this or other communities.
It is appropriate, therefore, that they should reflect upon that fact, take satisfaction from such promise as you have shown; and consider whether they have met their responsibility to you and to the future as well as they should have done.
Tonight, then, represents some measure of achievement – for young and old.
It is a night of doubts, as we contemplate the unknown and uncertain challenges of the future, and our preparation to meet them.
It is a night of optimism for all those who remember that each of us has the capacity to grow in ways that can improve our own lives and those around us.
To be with you–
To be asked to participate in exercises like these in the high schools of Maine is a source of satisfaction to me which is always refreshing and reassuring.
My memories of the past are very strong on such occasions:
Of the town where I was born;
Of my home life in the days of my boyhood;
Of neighbors and friends and teachers;
Of the warmth and the kindness and the opportunity which made it possible for the son of an immigrant to reach out and touch the promise of things to come.
That town and this State were my beginning. They taught me – on my graduation night 38 years ago – that I was free to make of myself whatever I was capable of becoming. It was a lesson which I have never forgotten.
But that is all in the past.
What does the future hold for you?
You and your generation will decide in much the same way that my generation has shaped the world in which you find yourselves–
By what you do or fail to do;
By your mistakes as well as your achievements;
By your intellectual, moral, and spiritual values.
By the attitudes you develop toward other people;
By your willingness or refusal to become involved in the affairs of other people in your communities, in our country and around the globe.
The dangers and the pitfalls which surround you are very great:
Relaxed moral standards of personal behavior;
Increasing resort to violence as a way to settle grievances and differences of opinion;
Growing impatience with the very real grievances of those who have been the object of prejudice and discrimination for too long;
Increasing numbers of Americans who believe there is no hope for them in our society;
A growing lack of confidence in the capacity of governmental and non-governmental institutions to respond to the problems we face;
The proliferation of barriers of suspicion and distrust and hatred between different groups, of Americans.
These tendencies and trends can destroy us and our country if allowed to continue. Young people are unhappy with things as they are – and with good reason. So were we – and with equally good reason.
That concern – and an awarenes of what is wrong – did not by themselves equip us with the wisdom to build a perfect world. And they will serve you no better – by themselves.
You are as fallible as we were.
You will make mistakes – as we did – from time to time.
You will be unjust and unkind and insensitive and unreasonable and arbitrary and as blind and ignorant – as we have been from time to time.
As a matter of fact, you and your generation have already demonstrated that you have inherited these shortcomings from us. You will also, however, demonstrate the qualities which justify our belief in the perfectibility of man.
You will achieve more greatly than we did in every field of endeavor.
You will build better communities – where the quality of justice and mercy and compassion and understanding will make life better for all.
And, in the process, you will build more satisfying lives for yourselves.
I believe this – we believe this – but whether you do this will depend so much upon you yourselves.
We worry – as you will – that as young people yield to their impatience for change and for a greater measure of personal freedom, they will accept – too quickly – new standards of behavior and new values which will create more serious problems for you than they will solve.
And so we become over-protective and even stuffy about such things as hair-styles; clothing styles; taste in music.
What we really care about are more fundamental things.
We want you to become intellectually, morally, and spiritually strong;
With a capacity to use freedom wisely;
With the understanding to make sound judgments as to what is right and what is wrong;
We pray that you can build a country that will meet the same standards. We know that there is injustice, inequity and inequality, prejudice and cruelty among our fellow citizens and in other lands.
You will have certain responsibilities now to your town, your State and your country. Patriotism is the word which sums up these responsibilities but it is a word that is much abused now.
Patriotism is a word that must never belong to just one group or just one cause. It must unite us all.
Patriotism is a constructive concern for what happens to our country and our people. It requires trust and confidence among our citizens, self-discipline and self-restraint in our daily decisions on the kind of neighborhoods we want and the kind of world we seek.
Above all, patriotism is the spirit which creates and sustains a nation in which all men can hold their heads high with pride;
A nation in which men are willing to fight injustice where it exists;
A nation in which men work to expand opportunities for all citizens;
A nation in which men change society where changes are needed through the ballot box and the public forum;
Patriotism is also the desire of a nation:
To clean up its air and water, not pollute them.
To help its poor and sick, not ignore them.
To work with all its, races and religions, not against them.
To end a war that divides its people.
You, your parents and your friends want these things because you care sincerely about the quality of life in our country, because you want to respect your country, because you want to love it.
We sometimes lose our sense of history and we forget that our struggles are not new ones, they are simply old dreams in modern dress. In each period of crisis in our national life, there have been those who have tried to equate dissent with disloyalty, who have tried to restrict our liberties as a means of defending them. It was not by chance that freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from unreasonable search were expressly added to the United States constitution.
And in each time of crisis, the good sense of the concerned majority has eventually restored the balance between order and liberty; security and freedom.
We are facing one of these turns in the road again. Some Americans today appear willing to restrict their own rights in a mistaken belief that the way to heal a divided nation is to silence its voices.
What we must do is learn to tolerate the opinions of others rather than try to curb their freedoms.
Patriotism is a willingness both to question and to listen to the answers, not just from those who agree with us but those who don't as well.
We cannot expect a country of such diversity to have one opinion or even one hundred or one thousand. But what we must expect is a degree of tolerance and trust from our neighbors or we shall not survive. And we must never forget the words of Jefferson that "every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.”
We know that we have not dealt with these conditions as well as we would have liked. We believe they can be dealt with in the kind of society we have.
And so we entrust the future to you – knowing that we have no choice – but believing, also, that you can measure up.
From this night on, you will have more freedom than you have ever known before. Use it well.