The President Speaks of the Future
The President often says that we want for others what we want for ourselves, "and that is to live in peace and freedom."
He says:
I should like even the humblest men in the remotest corners of the world, especially where people are now torn by hunger, and strife of revolution, and fanaticism and totalitarianism, to understand what we are trying to do. All we are trying to do is to encourage development of the earth's resources for the benefit of men everywhere."
I asked the President, "What would you say to the people of Russia or China, if you had an opportunity to address them directly?"
The President said:
I have often wished and prayed for just such an opportunity.
"The first thing I would say is that we have no desire nor are we trying to change the world to fit the pattern of our own country. People everywhere express themselves and live their own lives in terms of their own background and culture, and that is their God-given right, as long as they do not attempt to impose by force or intrigue their ideas on their neighbors.
"We in America have waged many bitter struggles to preserve our freedom.
"This freedom has enabled our masses of people to enjoy an ever improved standard of living, free from the kind of toil that still is breaking the backs of hundreds of millions of people. I would offer American experience, American skill and American science to help lift the load from these people's backs. Many people who still live in the feudal ages are being hoodwinked by devilish propaganda today into false paradises.
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