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REMARKS
OF THE
HONORABLE FARRIS BRYANT
AT THE
DEMOCRATIC DINNER
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
MAY 17, 1967
My
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We are not prepared to run away
from our commitments. If ever the
nations of the world doubt our national
will, we will indeed stand alone.
If we cannot be counted on, who ca
If we do not stand for freedom,
who does?
The French were not so committed.
Their commitment was to the maintenance
of a colonial empire, and they abandone
that commitment not at Geneva, but at
Dien Bien Phu. Now their commitment
seems to be to insular France, or at
most a restricted Europe.
But we are committed, and upon
our fidelity depends more than the
Mekong Delta, or even Laos, Cambodia
and Thailand. Upon our fidelity depend
our own character.
9
We are committed to a national
concern for the quality of our people.
Once we have accepted, with Jefferson,
the revolutionary change in the status
of the individual, from subject to
sovereign, vast consequences flow:
the absolute necessity of public
education for all;
the fundamental importance of a
free press;
the abolition of unearned special
privilege;
the reliance for security not
upon laws, but upon the character of
the people who make them;
and a resolute rejection of every
form of tyranny over the mind of man.
Not a one of those commitments has
been violated; some yet remain to be
lfilled,
10
On April 8, a report was filed wi
President Johnson pointing out that to
the first time in history no capable
American need be denied a higher edu-
cation because he cannot afford the
costs.
In slums and areas of unemploymen
all over the nation programs are
established to seek out the ignorant
and the untrained so that some day
every American will have the knowledge
required to be a sovereign.
Our press is surely free.
Special privilege is under consta
attack.
Our peOple grow in their acceptan
of responsibility for the world in
which we live.
11
We are involved in painful adjust
ments in Europe. Old enemies have
become our friends, and old friends
sometimes act like enemies. Germany
elcomes our troops and our trade,
hile France undermines our financial
~ystem and burns our Flag in her streets.
We labor under tremendous difficulties.
out of the last 35 years we have
calanced our national budget in only six.
our gold reserves have been reduced
:lmost to minimums. Poverty still
=xists. There are unmet needs for
oads, and hospitals, and colleges.
Yet all of this pales into
nsignificance beside the strength and
esources of our people: the farms and
actories, the hospitals and schools, the
ighways, airports, homes; their industry
l2
We have not solved all the problem
of democracy. We have racial and other
ethnic minorities, political machines,
sectionalism, trial by newspaper,
legislation by mob action, inequalities
before the law. But consider how much
we have inherited.
We have learned from the Greeks
how to live under democracy;
From the Romans how to live under
law.
We have tempered these lessons
with love of one God which we learned
from the Jews, and added the concern
for our fellow man, because he is a
man, which we learned from Jesus.
Because we are imperfect, even
with this heritage, there is no likeli
hood that we can overcome all of the
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problems of living together; because
of our heritage, there is little
likelihood that these problems can
overcome us.
When Benjamin Franklin stepped
out of Constitution Hall in Philadelphia,
he was asked, "What kind of government
do we have?" His answer could just as
well be made today as then: A republic
if you can keep it."
We have kept it, and made it work.
We are going to keep it, and make
t better.
A patriot has said, and i believe
im, that America has nothing to fear
ave the decay of manhood, the betrayal
f our heritage, the apathy of indifference,
nd the corrosion of individual responsi
ility. Still, as of old, we may choose
l4
whom we will serve. I am even more
certain today of the choice our people
would make, do make, than i would have
been in 1776.
If there are those who say we have
lost the spirit of democracy, point
out to them the treatment the United
States colossus accorded to defiant
little Sigman Rhee. When he set off on
an independent course, he was not kicke
out of office -- no charges were trumpe
up against him -- he did not die sudden
from some strange and mysterious ailmen
Instead, he was treated as an equal --
treated on the assumption that he and
his people had a right to make their ow
decisions, even though they were
mistaken, even though they cost the liv
of American boys. There has not been i
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all history a finer example of the ideal
of democracy at work on an international
scale.
We shall write the same record
in Viet Nam.
If you fear that the corrosion of
individual responsibility has set in,
let me testify from my own experience
in politics and community affairs that
the man who is unwilling to give a part
of his time and substance towards the
betterment of his community and nation
is the exception, not the rule.
Churches are being built faster
than can be recorded -- and each one is
built from money contributed by individuals
who feel their personal responsibility.
Chambers of Commerce and civic clubs
thrive because Americans recognize that
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each must play his part in uplifting
society. So much a part of our way of
life are these voluntary contributions
that the internal revenue laws allow
a deduction for them whether you can
prove them or not.
How great is our heritage! How
marvelous are our opportunities! When
there are those, either on the right or
the left of the spectrum of our nationa
political faith, who question the valid
and vitality of our fathers' dreams, te
them they are not false -- they are not
dead -- they have been realized, and ar
being realized every day. We take thos
dreams for granted, and dream new drea
see new visions. What we sought for
ourselves we now seek to share with the
world.
17
The great uproar in the political
world in our nation is the product of
the national resolve to extend our
frontier of opportunity to every American
-- especially to those who have been
unwilling or unable to recognize that
they have a share in the scheme and the
dream. The war on poverty is fought
as much against poverty of the spirit
as of the body.
Now we arrive, again, at another
point of decision.
When the problems of Viet Nam
have been solved (and they will be),
other such problems will arise. The
conflict between freedom and tyranny
did not start there, and it will not
end there. There will be other battles,
ther battlefields.
Remaer to the Governor's Dinner
Columbia. South Carolina.
May 17. 1967
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When we consider our sacrificesx
at Viet Nam -- and they are heavy --
it is well to ask: What might have
happened if the United States had not
reinforced South Viet Nam? Herman Kahn
Director of the Hudson institute and
author of On Thermonuclear War, suggest
that there would have been a bleak
result.
One assumes that there would have
been a collapse of the Saigon Regime
and most likely withdrawal of U.S.
advisors -- perhaps after some bloody
incidents. Most people would concede
that there would have been a quick
union of North and South Viet Nam,
perhaps under the guise of holding the
scheduled 1966 election. One can also
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ssume that the Chinese would not have
oved into the United North and South
iet Nam.
This new united country with more
than 30 million people would enjoy a
high morale. (Had it not just triumphed
over the policy of the largest power in
the world despite every attempt this
power made to prevent such defeat? ~-
or at least this is what would have
been claimed and believed.) Tha Viet Nam
would doubtless have been prepared to
settle scores with some of its neighbors.
Prince Sihanouk has said on several
occasions that under these circumstances
he would assume that his country would
have to accommodate to the communists
and might even be absorbed by Viet Nam.
20
Laos would clearly have gone under
unless the United States had tried to
fight there (a much more difficult and
hopeless job than in Viet Nam.) Stron
pressures would have been felt in
Thailand. The many strains that exist
in that country would clearly have
been increased, and at least in North-
east Thailand serious communist rebelli
would have been possible. Perhaps the
United States would have sent troops t
put this rebellion down. Whether this
would be a difficult or an easy job is
hard to say. It is also possible that
Thailand would have changed sides, or
least tried to do so. But this might
not have helped it.
Malaysia would have been in a
difficult situation, flanked by
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communist Viet Nam and Sukarnos
fellow-travelling Indonesia. Presumably
the 500 or so communist guerrillas still
left in Northern Malaysia would have
been greatly reinforced, creating one
serious problem to the Malaysia govern-
ment. Doubtless, also, many Moslems in
alaysia, realizing that they now faced
a choice between a revival of civil
war and acquiescence to Indonesia --
a fraternal Moslem country -- would have
tried to settle with Sukarno. This
would have turned the balance in
Indonesia and the equivalent of the
communist uprising of September 30,
1965, succeeded with Indonesia either
turning communist or at least joining
China as a firm ally. At this point,
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one can assume that leftist dissidents
around the world would have asked Viet
Nam and China for advice on "how to
do it."
The Soviets, too, having to
compete with a successful international
Chinese movement, might also have found
themselves driven to extremism,
particularly since extremist tactics
might now pay off.
This is an imperfect world, and
we are mortal men. But of all the
nations in the world, this - our Natio
-- has been the best. It may truly be,
in the long span of history, man's last
best chance.
And despite all the doubters may
say, it is the Democratic Party which
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82
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From compromise and things half doni
Keep me with stern and stubborn prii
And when at last the fight is won,
God keep me still unsatisfied.
You greatly honor me by your
Jnvitation to speak to this audience which
Includes so many people whom I admire and
.fespect.
-- in this State the progress of
which I have followed with
such pleasure and pride
-- on an occasion so full of
sentiment and promise
with this Governor who has so
richly merited your confidence,
and who has won the respect of
his colleagues throughout the
Nation.
Indeed, I am glad just to be among
3mocrats, to share your pride in our
l'eritage, to contemplate with satisfaction
the progress of the State and Nation
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under our Party's leadership, to view
with confidence and determination our
future.
In the long upward climb from
wilderness to wonderland, we have arriv
at another apex -- we have led our Nati
to a new pinnacle. And now, instead
of resting on our laurels, it is time
to look ahead.
We have more freedom, more power,-
more education, more wealth, as a
people -- than have any other people a
any other time or any other place in
the history of the world.
So this is a rich moment for
reflecting upon our world, upon its
values, its conflicts, its promises --
and upon our place and part in the who
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vast scheme. I hope we will take
advantage of it.
It is not easy to find life's deep
meanings. Some people live out their
years without ever seeming to have done
so. Omar Kayyam expressed the difficulty
so well:
"Into this universe, and why not
knowing,
Nor whence, like water willy
nilly flowing;
And out of it, as wind along the
waste,
I know not whier, willy nilly
blowing."
To my great surprise, President
Eisenhower said almost the same thing.
4
Writing about his days as a cadet, he
revealed that:
"...from the first day at West Point,
and any number of times thereafter, I
often asked myself: 'What am I doing
here? Like the other young men, I
sometimes wondered -- where did I
come from, by what route and why;
by what chance arrangement of fate did
I come by this uniform?"
Our nation seems to be going throu
a similar period of questioning its
place and purpose in the world: at
Punta del Este, at Saigon, at Watts,
in the university, the market place,
the hospital, the street.
There are many who side with Omar:
Let the South Americans wrestle with t
own problems!
Get out of Viet Nam!
Forget about Watts!
Keep the universities out of contemporary
conflict!
Leave the market place alone!
Ignore the untrained!
Relax! Take it easy! Live it up!
M M W (QJAAARMTfO
I cannot join them.
"A book of verses underneath
the bow,
a loaf of bread,
a jug of wine, and thou..."
not for me!
Life is a relay, and we are runners.
We take the baton where it is handed
to us, and where the next generation
receives it depends entirely upon how
far we run.
6
The newspapers and airways are ful
today, and they have been for months pa
of expressions of concern over the
continuance of the war in Viet Nam; of
criticism with all the wisdom of
20/20 hindsight of the conduct of
Presidents and Secretaries of State
under whose leadership the existing
circumstances have developed:
Of advice from experts, real and
fancied, official and non-official,
secular and divine, on what course
this Government should pursue.
That is as it should be.
The ears of the President are not
closed to any advice. Its value is not
determined by its genealogy. But there
is an elementary proposition that canno
be ignored:
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We are committed to the support
of the people of South Viet Nam in
their effort to secure a government of
their own choosing through free elections.
Once that fact is recognized,
consequences follow:
We are not prepared for unilateral
action which will strengthen the other
side and expose to ever greater danger
the lives of our own men in the field.
We are not prepared to create a
sanctuary from which the other side can
export its aggression with impunity and
conduct the war in relative comfort.
We are not prepared to repeat the
mistakes of other generations which have
let aggression go unchecked until the
price that must be paid is almost too
heavy to bear.
PAGE 1
REMARKS OF THE HO[JABLE FARNIS BRYANT .AT THE DEMOCRATIC ]INNER -OLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA OAY 17, 197
PAGE 3
:e are committed to a national concern for the quality of our people. Once ae have accepted, with Jefferson, the revolutionary change in the status of the individual, from subject to sovereign, vast consequencen flow: the absolute necessity of public education for all; he fundamental importance of a free press; the abolition of unearned special pr i v i lege; the reliance for security not upon laws, but upon the character of the people .no make theo; and a resolute rejection of every form of tyranny over the mind of man. not a one of those commitments has been violated; some yet remain to be fulfilled.
PAGE 4
11 06
PAGE 5
11 We are involved in painful adjustments in Europe. Old enemies have become our friends, and old friends sometimes act like enemies. Germany welcomes our troops and our trade, while France undermines our financial system and burns our Flag in her streets. 4n labor under tremendous difficulties. ut of the last 35 years we have balanced our national budget in only six. yur gold reserves have been reduced almost to minimums. Poverty still exists. There are unmet needs for vans, and hospitals, and colleges. Yet all of this pales into nsignificanve beside the strength and esources of our people: the farms and actories, the hospital and schools, the ighways, airports, homes; their industry nd innenuitv.
PAGE 7
problems of living together; because of our heritage, there is little likelihood that thee problems can overcome us. When Benjamin Franklin stepped out of Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, he was asked, "1hat kind of government do we have?" His answer could just as well be made today as then: A republic -if yOU can keep it." .0 1000 kept it, and made it work. Wa are oincg to keep it, and make t better. A patriot has said, and I believe im, that Ameri a has nth ing to fear ave the decay of manhood, the betrayal f cOr heritage, the aathy of indifference, nd te corrosion of individual reoponsiility. Still, a of old, we may shoosa
PAGE 9
all history a finer examle o thideal of democracy at iork on an in-ernational scale. e st al. rIe t, an rev-or If you fear that the corrosion of individual responsibility has set in, let m, testify from my own experience in politics and community affairs that the man who is unwilling to g ive a parc of ais 1Inn an) sl sanne tomards the betterment of is L ity an. nation is the exce ion, nad the rule. Churches are In built faster than can be recorded -nd cash oni is built, from money contributeby -nividual who fuel tIeir pnrnal response ihility. Chambers of Commerce and civic clubs thrive because .nricans recnaa'iz 1a,
PAGE 10
1 -.s
PAGE 11
17 The great uproar ii the polite ical world in our nation is th product of the national resolve -extend our frontier of opportunity to every American -espe. ally Lo tuse To have been unnilling or unable to recognize that they have a share in the scheme and the dream. The war on poverty is fought as much against poverty of the spirit as of the body. nnow e arrive, again, at another point of decision. hen 'no problems of Viet .a. have bewn solve (and Lhey !ill be), other such problems will arise. The conflict between freedom and tyranny did not start there, and it will not ena there. Thers dill be ohr atttes, sher battlefields.
PAGE 12
-:am;,e;u. m -.-:e G.:.yertror't. -Ermer CI.J urni .-l South (~,-i rol-.n;1 V:ay 1 9
PAGE 13
S
PAGE 14
-kosume that the Chinose wonto not tone Ioved into nhe United North and outh Viest Na. This new united country ,ith more than 30 million people would enjoy a high morale. (Had it not just triumphed over the policy of the largest poer in the world despite every attempt this poter made Lo preet suh defeat -or at tost his io r V at vaould -ane been claimed and believed.) Thea Viet Nao viould doubtless have been prep-r ro setle oras .i .a soie its noi .onrs. Prince Sihanouk has sai d on several occasions tnat under these circumstances he uould assume that his country would have to accommodate to the communists and might even be absorbed by Viet Nam.
PAGE 15
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PAGE 16
Fa.
PAGE 17
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PAGE 18
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PAGE 19
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PAGE 20
You greatly onor me ty your invitation to speak to this audience which includes so many people whom I admire and respect. -in this State the progress of mhic I oace followedi .ith such pleasure and price -en an occasion so full of sentiment and promise with thi overnor iho has so richly morited your confidence, and sho has won the respect of his colleagues throughout the Nat ion. 1 n J I adem., I cii glad just to be among Democrats, to snare your price in our heritage, to contemplate wit satisfaction the progress of the State an Nation
PAGE 21
6 : 01
PAGE 22
3 vast scheme. i hope we will take advantage of it. It is not easy to find life's deep meanings. Some people live out their years without ever seeming to have done SO. amar Kayyam expressed the difficulty so well: "Into this universe, and why not knowing, Nor whence, like water willy nilly flowing; And out of it, as wind along the waste, I know not whiter, willy nilly blaming." To my great surprise, President Eisenhower said almost the same thina.
PAGE 23
I
PAGE 24
Il Get cay of Viet N a! Forget about .atis! Keep the universities out of contemporary conflict! Leave the market place alone! Ignore the untrained! Relax! Take it easy! Live it up! I cannot join them. -"A book of verses underneath the how, a loaf of bread, jug of wine, and thou... not for me! Life is a relay, and e are unnnrs. de take the baton where it is handed to us, and here the next generation receives it depends entirely upon how far .e run.
PAGE 25
.t -.-.--. -L ....i .: -, .r .-| .s --
PAGE 26
7 ., are comm itteJ to te support of the people of Souin Viet am in their effort to secure a government of the ir own choosinp through free elections. on.ce c-a u ac is rec C CniZ6d, sonOSquOnOe foll: e .re .ot prepare for unilateral action which will strengthen the other side and expose to ever greater danger the lives of our own men in the field. on are not prepared to create a sanctuary from which the other side can export its aggression cith impunity and conduct the war in relative comfort. In are not prepared to repeat the mistakes of other generations which have let aggression go unchecked until the price that must he paid is amost too heavy to bear.
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