DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1968 REMARKS OF CONGRESSMAN BOB DOLE I CAN THINK OF NO MORE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO DISCUSS ONE OF THE HIGHEST SENTIMENTS OF MAN THAN A MEETING OF WAR VETERANS. THE SENTIMENT TO WHICH I REFER IS PATRIOTISM. AS MEN WHO HAVE OFFERED YOUR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF YOUR COUNTRY, YOU ARE INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THIS SENTIMENT AND WHAT IT MEANS. YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I THAT PATRIOTISM IS NOT THE FEAR OF SOMETHING; IT IS THE LOVE OF SOMETHING. IT IS NOT THE HATRED OF AN ENEMY, BUT THE LOVE OF THIS REPUBLIC AND OF THE IDEAL OF LIBERTY OF MAN AND MINO. IN WHICH IT WAS BORN, AND TO WHICH OUR REPUBLIC IS DEDICATED. THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY, THOSE VOICES WHICH HAVE SOUNDED MOST CLEARLY AND ARE BEST REMEMBERED HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE ACCENT OF PATRIOTISM. (page) 2 - IS PATRIOTISM DEAD? - THERE ARE THOSE AMONG US WHO EXPRESS THE FEAR THAT THIS NOBLE SENTIMENT IS DEAD, THAT THE AMERICA OF TODAY IS NO LONGER MOTIVATED BY THE HIGH IDEALS OF PREVIOUS GENERATIONS, AND THAT COUNTRY NO LONGER HOLDS THAT SPECIAL MEANING IN THE HEARTS OF OUR YOUTH. I MUST TELL YOU IN ALL FRANKNESS THAT I DO NOT SHARE THIS FEAR, BUT WITH EQUAL CANDOR I SHOULD ADD THAT I CAN SEE THE REASONS FOR IT BEING EXPRESSED. THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE TODAY IS ONE OF RAPID CHANGE, REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE WHICH HOLDS UP TO THE HARSH GLARE OF REALITIES MANY OF THE VALUES WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY HELD. AND IN SUCH AN ERA OF RAPID CHANGE, QUESTIONS ARE BOUND TO ARISE IF THE COURSE OF OUR COUNTRY IS NOT FIRMLY DEFINED, IF OUR COLLECTIVE SENSE OF NATIONAL PURPOSE IS NOT MARSHALLED BY A LEADERSHIP WHICH BOTH DESERVES AND RECEIVES THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, RACES, CREEDS, AND PERSUASIONS. (page) 3 - A CHANGING WORLD, A CHANGING AMERICA - LET'S EXAMINE FOR A MOMENT THE NATURE OF THE CHANGE WHICH WE, AND THE REST OF THE WORLD, HAVE UNDERGONE DURING THE LAST GENERATION. AT THE CLOSE OF WORLD WAR II AMERICA WAS PRE-EMINENT IN POWER, THE ONLY MODERN NATION WHICH HAD NOT SUFFERED THE RAVAGES OF BATTLE. BUT THIS TIME THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE. BEFORE WE HAD HARDLY BEGUN TO LAY DOWN OUR ARMS IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THERE STILL EXISTED A FORCE WHICH POSED A THREAT TO OUR SOVEREIGNTY. AND, WITH THE ADVANCES OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY WE COULD NO LONGER AFFORD THE LUXURY OF RETREAT BEHIND PROTECTING OCEANS WHERE WE COULD PURSUE OUR OWN NATIONAL OBJECTIVES WITH LITTLE REFERENCE TO THE AMBITIONS OF OTHERS. FACED WITH THE VERY REAL THREAT OF EXPANDING COMMUNISM ENGULFING WESTERN EUROPE AND EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES, WE RECOGNIZED THAT OUR OWN SELF-INTEREST DICTATED THAT WE MUST SHARE OF OUR WEALTH SO THAT OTHER MEN COULD REMAIN FREE. WE FULFILLED THAT RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE STRENGTH AND VIABILITY OF EUROPE TODAY IS TESTIMONY TO BOTH THE CORRECTNESS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POLICIES WE FOLLOWED. (page) 4 HARDLY HAD THE ISSUE BEEN DECIDED IN EUROPE WHEN YET ANOTHER THREAT DEVELOPED IN KOREA, AND WE AGAIN TOOK UP THE BANNER OF FREEDOM - BUT THIS TIME A TRAGIC PART OF THE COST WAS PAID IN BLOOD OF AMERICAN BOYS. DURING THIS PERIOD THE ISSUES WERE CLEAR, OUR LEADERSHIP SOUNDED THE CALL AND IT WAS ANSWERED WITH A SENSE OF NATIONAL PURPOSE. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE TOLD WHAT THEY MIGHT EXPECT, AND PREPARED THEMSELVES TO FACE THE NECESSARY SACRIFICES. - NATIONAL DIRECTION LOST - BUT SOMETIME DURING THIS PERIOD AND AFTER, THE WAY BECAME LESS CLEAR. THE WORLD, AND AMERICA WITH IT, CONTINUED TO CHANGE. IN A RESURGENT EUROPE THERE WAS A DIMINISHED NEED FOR OUR HELP, AND THERE WAS NO LONGER THE INCLINATION TO FOLLOW OUR POLICY LEAD. A DEMOCRATIZED GERMANY BECAME STRONG ONCE AGAIN, ALTHOUGH REMAINING DIVIDED. THE FRANCE OF DEGAULLE DEVELOPED AN IRRITATING INCLINATION TO FOLLOW A PATH WHICH DISREGARDED THE INTERESTS AND DESIRES OF ITS LIBERATORS. ENGLAND, PRESIDING OVER THE END OF EMPIRE, WITHDREW MORE AND MORE TO ITS ISLAND BOUNDARIES AS IT BECAME PROGRESSIVELY A FOLLOWER RATHER THAN A LEADER AMONG NATIONS. (page) 5 DESPITE THE CONTINUING GROWTH OF SOVIET POWER, IT BECAME EVER CLEARER THAT THE COMMUNIST BLOC OF THE '40'S AND EARLY '50'S WAS COMING UNGLUED, AND THIS PROCESS WAS GREATLY ACCELERATED WITH THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA COMPETING FOR ASCENDENCY AMONG THEIR COMMUNIST BRETHEREN. NOW WE SEE THE PHENOMENON OF BOTH RUMANIA AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA FOLLOWING ESSENTIALLY INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICIES AND OPENING COMMERCIAL CONTACTS WITH THE WEST, WHILE PAYING ONLY LIP-SERVICE TO SOCIALIST SOLIDARITY. AND WE SEE CHINA AND RUSSIA MAINTAINING STANDING ARMIES ON THEIR COMMON BORDER WHILE THEY BICKER BITTERLY OVER EVERYTHING FROM IDEOLOGY TO SUPPLY OF A COMMON ALLY IN VIETNAM. AND WE IN AMERICA CHANGED AT THE SAME TIME. AS OUR ECONOMY EXPANDED INDIVIDUAL INCOME GREW AND WE CONTINUED TO PUSH EVER UPWARD THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF LIVING EVER KNOWN TO MAN. EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL BECAME A VIRTUAL BIRTH-RIGHT FOR MOST AMERICANS WHO WISHED TO SEEK IT. BUT THERE WERE OTHER THINGS HAPPENING TOO. (page) 6 - HOW AMERICA CHANGED - AS OUR ECONOMY GREW SO DID OUR GOVERNMENT, AND SO DID OUR EXPENDITURES. WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, IN SUCCESSIVE YEARS OUR BUDGETS WERE OUT OF BALANCE AND OUR NATIONAL DEFICITS GREW. AS THE COST OF OUR PRODUCTS CONTINUED TO RISE, AND AS WE CONTINUED TO INVEST ABROAD IN THE ECONOMIES OF OTHER COUNTRIES OUR OUTFLOW OF GOLD TURNED FROM A TRICKLE TO A TORRENT. AND AS OUR ECONOMIC STRENGTH, ALTHOUGH STILL INCREASING, BECAME LESS IN PROPORTION TO THAT OF THE REST OF THE FREE WORLD, THE STABILITY OF THE DOLLAR CAME INCREASINGLY UNDER ATTACK. AT THE SAME TIME, AS THE WELL-BEING OF MOST AMERICANS CONTINUED TO INCREASE, THERE DEVELOPED PORTIONS OF OUR POPULATION WHICH DID NOT SHARE EQUALLY IN THIS. AS OUR CITIES GREW, INCREASINGLY THEIR CENTERS WERE POPULATED BY A PEOPLE DISENFRANCHISED BOTH POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY. AS A RESULT OF THIS WE HAVE COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE REALIZATION THAT 10 PERCENT OF OUR POPULATION EXISTS BELOW THE ECONOMIC LEVEL WHICH ALLOWS A MAINTENANCE OF DIGNITY AND SELF RESPECT, AND WE WERE CONFRONTED WITH THE STARK AND UNPLEASANT REALITY THAT OURS rs NOT A SOCIETY OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL. (page) 7 AND WITH THE DAWNING OF THIS REALITY IT BECAME EVER CLEARER THAT AN ACCOMPANYING DEVELOPMENT WAS THE BREAKDOWN OF LAW AND ORDER. OUR LAND OF THE FREE HAS WATCHED IN INCREASING HORROR AS ITS CITIES HAVE ERUPTED IN FLAMES AND ITS LEADERS HAVE FALLEN FROM ASSASSIN'S BULLETS. - CREDIBILITY LOST - DURING THIS PERIOD THERE HAS BEEN ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT WHICH HAS BOTH ACCOMPANIED AND CONTRIBUTED TO OUR INCREASING SOCIAL INSTABILITY. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE FOUND INCREASINGLY THAT THEY CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT THEY ARE TOLD BY THEIR LEADERS. MANAGEMENT OF THE NEWS, AND OUTRIGHT DISTORTION OF FACT ON THE PART OF NATIONAL LEADERS HAS HAD SEVERAL RESULTS. ONE OF THESE IS AN INCREASING SKEPTICISM ON THE PART OF THE PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE BEING TOLD WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON. PROMISES MADE WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MADE AND COULD NOT BE FULFILLED HAVE CONTRIBUTED IN A TELLING FASHION TO THE FRUSTRATION AND DESPAIR OF THE POOR AND UNDERPRIVILEGED, AND HAVE BEEN AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THEIR LASHING OUT AT THE SOCIETY WHICH THEY FEEL THEY CANNOT TRUST. (page) 8 THIS PHENOMENON HAS PROBABLY BEEN NOWHERE MORE APPARENT THAN IN THE INFORMATION THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ABOUT THE VIETNAM WAR. OUR GRADUAL AND INCREASING INVOLVEMENT IN THIS ASIAN LAND WAR HAS BEEN COVERED AT EVERY STEP WITH ASSURANCES THAT ALL WAS WELL AND VICTORY WAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. HENCE IT WAS AS IF ONE MORNING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AWOKE TO FIND A HALF A MILLION BOYS IN VIETNAM AND DEATHS GOING OVER THE 20,000 MARK. IN A RECENT ADDRESS TO A GROUP OF CONGRESSIONAL STAFF MEMBERS, CBS COMMENTATOR WALTER CRONKITE MADE A POINT WHICH I FINO PERSUASIVE. CRONKITE CONTRASTED THE GENERAL LACK OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR THE U.S. VIETNAM POLICY WITH PUBLIC REACTION TO PREVIOUS WARS, AND SAID THAT THIS WAS A DIRECT RESULT OF THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO HIDE THE TRUTH FROM THE PEOPLE. HIS THESIS WAS THAT HAD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, FROM THE BEGINNING, BEEN FULLY INFORMED ON THE NATURE OF OUR INVOLVEMENT AND ITS POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES; HAD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE BEEN TOLD WHY WE WERE DOING WHAT WE WERE DOING - THEN THERE WOULD NOT HAVE DEVELOPED THIS LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR NATIONAL LEADERS, THIS CRISIS IN CREDIBILITY. WHILE SOME MIGHT HAVE DISAGREED, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS THIS DISAGREEMENT THROUGH THE USUAL POLITICAL PROCESSES. (page) 9 - ARE YOUTH PATRIOTIC? - THOSE WHO SAY THAT PATRIOTISM IN THE TRADITIONAL FORM IS DYING, POINT TO THE ACTIONS OF OUR AMERICAN YOUTH. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SEVERAL POINTS WITH REGARD TO YOUTH. FIRST, IN A VERY REAL SENSE WE ARE THE VICTIMS, IN OUR ATTITUDES AND IMPRESSIONS, OF MODERN COMMUNICATIONS. ACTION MAKES NEWS, AND IS REPORTED AS SUCH. A YOUNG MAN BURNING HIS DRAFT CARD WILL BE PICTURED ON THE FRONT PAGES OF OUR NATIONAL PRESS AND FEATURED ON TELEVISION, BUT 100 or l ,000 YOUNG MEN REPORTING TO TAKE UP ARMS IN DEFENSE OF THE COUNTRY THEY LOVE IS ONLY A MONTHLY STATISTIC REPORTED ON THE INSIDE PAGES, IF AT ALL. ONE HUNDRED STUDENTS SITTING IN THE OFFICE OF A COLLEGE DEAN ARE SUBJECTED TO INTENSE MEDIA COVERAGE, BUT ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND YOUNG PEOPLE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES THROUGHOUT OUR LAND AND TAKING UP THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS CITIZENS ARE ONLY AN AGGREGATE NOTED IN A GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION. SECOND, MANY OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG MEN WHO FACE THE PROSPECT OF FIGHTING AND PERHAPS DYING FOR THEIR COUNTRY, SINCERELY QUESTION HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE, AND WHERE WE ARE GOING. THEY DO NOT DO THIS OUT OF DISRESPECT FOR COUNTRY OR LACK OF RESOLVE TO DEFEND THE INTERESTS OF OUR SOCIETY, BUT BECAUSE THEY FEEL THAT SOMEHOW THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPECT AT LEAST THE COURTESY OF AN ANSWER TO THEIR LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS FROM THE LEADERS WHO ARE SENDING THEM INTO BATTLE. AS A CONGRESSMAN I RECEIVE MANY SUCH LETTERS, AS DO MOST OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. (page) 10 THIS LEADS ME TO MY THIRD POINT - THE YOUTH OF OUR COUNTRY HAVE THE RIGHT TO QUESTION WHERE PREVIOUS GENERATIONS HAVE LED THEM: THEY HAVE NOT ONLY A RIGHT BUT A RESPONSIBILITY TO ASK WHY, AND TO DISAGREE IF THEY DO NOT RECEIVE SATISFACTORY ANSWERS. - THE NEW PATRIOTISM - AND I SUBMIT THAT THIS NEW GENERATION OF AMERICAN ADULTS, BECAUSE THEY QUESTION OR PROPERLY OPPOSE CONTRIBUTE NOT TO WEAKNESS BUT TO STRENGTH. THEY ARE CONCERNED, AND THEY ARE INVOLVED. THEY ARE NOT INCLINED MERELY TO SIT BACK AND COMPLAIN ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA; THEY ARE MOVING INTO THE ARENA TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE THE AMERICA THEY WOULD WISH TO SEE. THIS DEDICATION CAN BE DEFINED AS PATRIOTISM IN ITS HIGHEST FORM. IT IS A DEDICATION TO A SENSE OF NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY WHICH WILL ENABLE AMERICA TO INCREASE HER POWER, TO REMAIN THE MASTER OF IT, AND TO MOVE WITH WISDOM AND SELF-RESPECT IN THE COMMUNITY OF NATIONS. AS ADLAI STEVENSON ONCE SAID "PATRIOTISM IS NOT SHORT, FRENZIED OUTBURSTS OF EMOTION, BUT THE TRANQUIL AND STEADY DEDICATION OF A LIFETIME." BUT WE OF OLDER GENERATIONS CANNOT YET LAY DOWN THE MANTLE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND LET IT PASS TO THE YOUTH OF AMERICA. INDEED, OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS ALL THE GREATER FOR THEIR EAGERNESS AND DEDICATION. (page) 11 NOT ONLY AT THE LEVEL OF NATIONAL POLITICS, BUT AT STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS AS WELL, WE MUST ELECT THOSE MEN, AND CONCEIVE AND EXECUTE THOSE POLICIES WHICH WILL PUT OUR COUNTRY AND OUR SOCIETY ON THE PATH TO MEANINGFUL PROGRESS. WE MUST RE-ESTABLISH OUR CREDIBILITY ABROAD, AND WE MUST RE-UNITE OUR PEOPLE AT HOME. WE MUST CALL FORTH AND CHALLENGE THE TREMENDOUS RESOURCES OF OUR PRIVATE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY TO TAKE THE LEAD IN REBUILDING A SOCIETY WHERE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IS A FACT AND NOT A PHRASE, AND WHERE ALL AMERICANS CAN LIVE IN DIGNITY. THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO ALL THESE THINGS AND MORE IS BEFORE US IN THIS ELECTION YEAR OF 1968. AS A CANDIDATE IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR ME TO MAKE ANY PARTISAN REFERENCES HERE OR TO SPEAK ABOUT MY CANDIDACY. LET ME SAY, HOWEVER, IN A GENERAL WAY, THAT POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IS YOUR BUSINESS. WHETHER WE ARE DEMOCRATS OR REPUBLICANS IS, OF COURSE, SECONDARY TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF AMERICA. TO THOSE WHO SHUN POLITICS AND AN ACTIVE ROLE IN GOVERNMENT LET ME REPEAT WHAT EDMUND BURKE SAID MANY YEARS AGO, "ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL, IS THAT GOOD MEN REMAIN SILENT." (page) 12 IT IS SAID THAT LESS THAN 7% OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE EVER ATTEND A POLITICAL MEETING AND PERHAPS LESS THAN 5% EVER MAKE A POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION. THE POINT IS, THAT TOO MANY AMERICANS CONSIDER POLITICS A SPECTATOR SPORT AND FAR TOO MANY SIT ON THE SIDELINES CONTENT TO GRUMBLE ABOUT PROGRAMS AND POLICIES AND TO ACT AS MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKS IF HE DISAGREES WITH A PROGRAM OR A CANDIDATE'S VIEWS. I HOULD GUESS THAT WITHIN THIS ROOM THERE ARE MEN WHO HAVE LITERALLY RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY WHO FAILED TO VOTE IN 1966 AND WHO MAY FAIL TO VOTE AGAIN IN 1968. I KNOW OF NO MORE RESPONSIBLE GROUP THAN THE DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AND I URGE YOU AS A FRIEND, NOT AS A CANDIDATE, TO BECOME MOVING FORCES IN POLITICS IN AMERICA -- FOR THE GOOD OF AMERICA. THERE ARE THOSE WHO SAY THAT AMERICA IS "SICK" AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD INDICT ALL AMERICANS BECAUSE OF THE MOST RECENT AMERICAN TRAGEDY. I DISAGREE WITH THOSE WHO ARE QUICK TO BLAME SOCIETY FOR THE VIOLENT ACTS OF A FEW, BUT I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IF WE FAIL TO EXPRESS OURSELVES AT THE BALLOT BOX, WE HAVE FAILED OURSELVES AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF AMERICANS. (page) 13 - REASON MUST PREVAIL - AS I STATED LAST FRIDAY IN EL DORADO, THE BULLET CANNOT REPLACE THE BALLOT IN POLITICS, NOR VIOLENCE REPLACE PERSUASION, LEST THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE BE LOST. A TREND, ORGANIZED AND FEVERISH, HAS INFESTED OUR SOCIETY. IT IS BASED ON THE WILD AND UNRESTRAINED NOTION THAT VIOLENCE IS JUSTIFIED BY ITS OBJECTIVES, THAT A POLICY OR A PUBLIC FIGURE WHO STANDS FOR SOMETHING SHOULD BE MOWED DOWN MERELY BECAUSE OTHERS DO NOT AGREE WITH THE POLICY OR THE MAN. IT IS THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS WHICH CAN AND PROBABLY DID TRIGGER THE DISEASED BRAIN WHICH CONCEIVED AND CARRIED OUT THE MURDER OF SENATOR KENNEDY. THE SENATOR, WHATEVER HIS VIEWS, HAD COMMITTED NO CRIME, ABUSED NO INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP, DEPRIVED NO ONE OF HIS RIGHTS, THREATENED THE SAFETY OF NEITHER THE ASSASSIN NOR ANYONE CONNECTED WITH HIM. WHILE THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN ALLEVIATE THE NATIONAL HORROR OVER THIS ASSASSINATION WE CAN BUILD A BETTER AMERICA. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF WAYS, BUT I WILL MENTION JUST A FEW: (page) 14 1. WE CAN BECOME ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, 2. WE CAN SUPPORT THOSE ENGAGED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, 3. WE CAN, BY EXAMPLE, BY WORD, AND BY DEED, CREATE A CLIMATE WHERE REASON TAKES PRECEDENCE OVER VIOLENCE, 4. WE CAN WELCOME TO THE POLITICAL PROCESS THE ENERGY, IMAGINATION, AND VISION THAT THE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN BRING TO IT. FOR IN THIS CHANGING WORLD, THOSE WHO WOULD MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO ONLY INSURE THE ALIENATION OF THE DYNAMIC FORCES OF CHANGE. THOSE WHO HARNESS THAT DYNAMISM HELP BUILD A BETTER AMERICA.