○  dwight d. eisenhower: farewell address  ○

, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

it is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system – ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. as we peer into society's future, we -- you and i, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease and convenience the precious resources of tomorrow. we cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. we want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.

during the long lane of the history yet to be written, america knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. such a confederation must be one of equals. the weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. that table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.

disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative. together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose. because this need is so sharp and apparent, i confess that i lay down my official responsibilities in this field with a definite sense of disappointment. as one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of war, as one who knows that another war could utterly destroy this civilization which has been so slowly and painfully bui

上一页  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] 下一页