○  franklin d. roosevelt: the four freedoms  ○

your president, performing my constitutional duty to “give to the congress information of the state of the union,” i find it unhappily necessary to report that the future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders.

armed defense of democratic existence is now being gallantly waged in four continents.  if that defense fails, all the population and all the resources of europe and asia, africa and australia will be dominated by conquerors.  and let us remember that the total of those populations in those four continents, the total of those populations and their resources greatly exceeds the sum total of the population and the resources of the whole of the western hemisphere—yes, many times over.

in times like these it is immature— and, incidentally, untrue—for anybody to brag that an unprepared america, single-handed and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.

no realistic american can expect from a dictator’s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion—or even good business.  such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors.  those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

as a nation we may take pride in the fact that we are soft-hearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.  we must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach th

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