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ADDRESS BY
HONORABLE FARRIS BRYANT
DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING
AT THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE
UNITED FUND DR IVE
FOR THE CITY OF
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
OCTOBER 3, 1966
-8
would always rule, and the weak be crushed; the laborer would still be on his knees; the slave would still wear his chains.
But justice as a matter of right! America protects the weak from the strong, not because the weak command, but because it is right -- it is just -to do so.
There are those in this Nation who seem to think that justice is possible without law. Without law there is anarchy, and anarchy respects only strength, not justice.
>1e cannot substitute riots for rights.
We cannot subhtitute revolution for evolution.
If we are to build a new harmony out of old conflicts, it must he with the spirit of cobert -. Lee, who offered his sword to Ulysse b. Grant -- and out of the spirit of Grant, who returned it.
ut chat it Jtioe?
To a ball player -- it is an honest umpire with good eyecioht.
To a crape picker -- it ic a fair wage and decent working cond itions.
to a retellious college student
-- it is a voice in the affairs of the world of which he has lately become aware .
To a Negro -- it is some yet ill-de Iired eq 'lity oc iced through a diverse and often confused leadership.
-11
To a husband or father -- it is the safety of his wife and daughter wherever in this land they may be.
For a child, it is health and education.
For an older citizen, it is security in d in ity.
The demand for justice takes a thousand forms. Like beauty, it seems to lie in the eyes of the beholder.
Setimes demands for justice clash with each other; sometimes they clash with concepts of freedom and private property, and increasingly of late, with sovereignty of the law.
I recognize full well that I have moved into an area of discussion fraught with difficulty and delicacy.
-12
It revolves around the philosophical aspects of Tethods used to satisfy the constructive inoulse of the American people to see that concepts of justice and law grow as rapidly as our culture, our technology, and our economy.
We have decided to br ing the
advan tages of med ical science to the diseased and disabled -- how is it to be done In a Nation which began with a commitment that no American should be imprisoned for debt, nor without due process, nor because of excessive bail, there is gradually forming a commitment that no American shall be imprisoned because of disease if it is in the power of his fellows to free
-13
We cannot recoil or retreat from the revolutionary spirit of these times. The values that we cherish are not ancient forms, but eternal rights. We must not warp these rights, as they are enlarged by an enriched society, to fit ancient forms, but change those forms, or create new ones, to enlarge our rights.
How can we police our streets with the vigor and effectiveness that will insure the safety of the public without destroying the hard-earned liberties of the individual?
We have decided to give every child the opportunity to learn and to develop to his full potential -- how is it to be done' How can we achieve
-14
that kind of equality and not he bound to the lowest common denominator?
These are goals with which none can quarrel because they do but seek for everyone what everyone seeks for himself.
Somehow we must take the pragmatism of social and economic reform and fit it into the idealism of political
reform.
That is what we are trying to do here in thin peculiarly American institution, The United Fund. It is one response an American makes to the silent anguish of those overwhelmed by circumstance. Like Amos we cry out: "Let justice roll down like waters, and rightousness as a mighty stream."
-15
1 am quite sure that I do not subscribe with equal vigor to all the purposes of the agencies served by the United Fund. You may have some of the sue That is the price of being united. But we are all united in the hith purposes we gather tonight to further; and we are, I trust and pray, united as one in the opt imism expressed by DeTocqueville as he marvelled at our laboratory of liberty nore than a century ago. He saw in this "land of wonders" a place where:
"No natural boundary seems
to be set to the efforts of man; and in his eyes what is not yet
done is only what he has not yet
attempted to do."
I am pleased to be here today to greet the leadership -- and the beauty of the City of Jacksonville; to enjoy, for a moment, the company of so many of my friends amono you; and to salute you for the high purpose which brings you together.
It is so important to aim high. It is so necessary to have goals so great that they demand our total commitment. One conclusion about life that I have formed rather firmly is that for a man, for a city, for a nation, where you are is never as important as where you're going.
A few days ago, I was flying to Cape kennedy with, among others, Walt Rostow, a distinguished scholar
-2
who currently serves as a special advisor to the president. The discussion was about America's decision to put sen on the moon in the 196's. hr. ostow commented that this decision was made like most really great Amer ican decisions: we didn't really know where we were vis-a-vis Ausians; we didn't know how we'd do it; we just settled on agocal, committed ourselves to it, and set off
into the unknown.
You will recall that resident aconedy announced our decision to go to the moon while speak ing at a dinner in oinami. Some of you were there. I have a film and sound record of that .ccasion, and thrill yet to the memory of that noent.
because he set that high purpose, we began the expansion of our Un ivrsity system. Because of that purpose the people of Flor ida, in 1963, approved a t300 million bnd issue to build Florida ,tlantic University, and the Lniversity of West Florida, and a university at rlando, and Jun ior Colleges, and to expand our existing universities. The fall-out from that high purpose has chanted the history of Florida.
I recall listening to General James Gavin at a small dinner in ralm Beach, when he first suggested a reane Corps. He recogn ized that young people today, as always, respond best to sane challenge that calls for their total
-4
commitment -- that sets them on a Journey with only the stars as their guide. Today 3,543 young Americans are experiencing hardships and lonliness, and fulfillment, in many countries around the world because their Nation set them that high goal.
The goal you have set for the United Fund in Jacksonville is a high one -- if it has a flaw it is that it does not demand enough.
Une of the factors which makes my job in Washington so satisfy ing is that it demands so much of me. The management of strategic stockpiles valued in billions and essential to our national survival; the preparation of plans for the regulation and allocation of our
-5
human and natural resources should war come; the direction of the response of this Nation to natural disasters which strike our people; the participation in deliberations of the National Security Council; the responsibility for the readiness and continuity of our governments should we be attacked; the role of Ambassador for the Fresident to the Governors of this Nation; these are large tasks and a constant challenge. Almost any day is for me a venture such as an astronaut takes -- i step off in space without really knowing where I will land -- only that I'm on the way.
Florida has had many such experiences. I am sure no one in Florida had the remotest idea that we could absorb
-6
hundreds of thousands of Cubans as they fled from Castro. But we have! And still they come. Floridians have written a shining chapter in the history of freedom.
I cannot let this occasion pass without expressing the appreciation which I feel, and which I know the president feels, for the steadfastness of the people of Florida in the face of the difficulties and sacrifices which are the costs of the conflict in Vietnam. It is not surprising that you who live so close to Cuba should have a special understanding of the threat which a Communist dictatorship poses for free men, but it is none-the-less gratifying that you do so.
-7
The task in Vietnam is not a simple one -- certainly it is not an easy one. I am quite sure that no one wishes more than the president of the Lnited States that it was not our task.
But we cannot expect others to honor our commitments if we do not honor them.
We cannot expect others to stand for freedom if we do not.
We cannot expect others to resist aggression if we run.
Someone has said of Democracy that it is the worst form of government -except all others.
I think it can be said of our policy in Vietnam that it is the worst policy -except all others.
-8
What we seek in is what we seek here
It simply isn't to be crippled if we to make him whole.
fietnam, really, t ujst ice. fair for a child have the capacity
It simply isn't just for an older person, whom aye and misfortune has robbed, to live out his -- or her -last years in loneliness and poverty, if we have the capacity to prevent it.
We gather here in this organ ization to try to further the m- of justice in a society, an economy, a political structure, which for all their advantages, all their achievements, do permit injustice.
A hotgjustice as a product of power! If that were so, the strong
PAGE 1
ADDRESS BY HONORABLE FARRIS BRYANT DIRECTOR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING AT THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNITED FUND DR IVE FOR THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA OCTOBER 3, 1966
PAGE 2
-8would always rule, and the weak be crushed; the laborer would still be on his knees; the slave would still wear his chains. But justice as a matter of right! America protects the weak from the strong, not because the weak command, but because it is right -it is just -to do so. There are those in this Nation who seem to think that justice is possible without law. Without law there is anarchy, and anarchy respects only strength, not justice. >1e cannot substitute riots for rights. We cannot subhtitute revolution for evolution.
PAGE 3
If we are to build a new harmony out of old conflicts, it must he with the spirit of cobert -. Lee, who offered his sword to Ulysse b. Grant -and out of the spirit of Grant, who returned it. ut chat it Jtioe? To a ball player -it is an honest umpire with good eyecioht. To a crape picker -it ic a fair wage and decent working cond itions. to a retellious college student -it is a voice in the affairs of the world of which he has lately become aware To a Negro -it is some yet ill-de Iired eq 'lity oc iced through a diverse and often confused leadership.
PAGE 4
-11To a husband or father -it is the safety of his wife and daughter wherever in this land they may be. For a child, it is health and education. For an older citizen, it is security in d in ity. The demand for justice takes a thousand forms. Like beauty, it seems to lie in the eyes of the beholder. Setimes demands for justice clash with each other; sometimes they clash with concepts of freedom and private property, and increasingly of late, with sovereignty of the law. I recognize full well that I have moved into an area of discussion fraught with difficulty and delicacy.
PAGE 5
-12It revolves around the philosophical aspects of Tethods used to satisfy the constructive inoulse of the American people to see that concepts of justice and law grow as rapidly as our culture, our technology, and our economy. We have decided to br ing the advan tages of med ical science to the diseased and disabled -how is it to be done In a Nation which began with a commitment that no American should be imprisoned for debt, nor without due process, nor because of excessive bail, there is gradually forming a commitment that no American shall be imprisoned because of disease if it is in the power of his fellows to free
PAGE 6
-13We cannot recoil or retreat from the revolutionary spirit of these times. The values that we cherish are not ancient forms, but eternal rights. We must not warp these rights, as they are enlarged by an enriched society, to fit ancient forms, but change those forms, or create new ones, to enlarge our rights. How can we police our streets with the vigor and effectiveness that will insure the safety of the public without destroying the hard-earned liberties of the individual? We have decided to give every child the opportunity to learn and to develop to his full potential -how is it to be done' How can we achieve
PAGE 7
-14that kind of equality and not he bound to the lowest common denominator? These are goals with which none can quarrel because they do but seek for everyone what everyone seeks for himself. Somehow we must take the pragmatism of social and economic reform and fit it into the idealism of political reform. That is what we are trying to do here in thin peculiarly American institution, The United Fund. It is one response an American makes to the silent anguish of those overwhelmed by circumstance. Like Amos we cry out: "Let justice roll down like waters, and rightousness as a mighty stream."
PAGE 8
-151 am quite sure that I do not subscribe with equal vigor to all the purposes of the agencies served by the United Fund. You may have some of the sue -That is the price of being united. But we are all united in the hith purposes we gather tonight to further; and we are, I trust and pray, united as one in the opt imism expressed by DeTocqueville as he marvelled at our laboratory of liberty nore than a century ago. He saw in this "land of wonders" a place where: "No natural boundary seems to be set to the efforts of man; and in his eyes what is not yet done is only what he has not yet attempted to do."
PAGE 9
I am pleased to be here today to greet the leadership -and the beauty of the City of Jacksonville; to enjoy, for a moment, the company of so many of my friends amono you; and to salute you for the high purpose which brings you together. It is so important to aim high. It is so necessary to have goals so great that they demand our total commitment. One conclusion about life that I have formed rather firmly is that for a man, for a city, for a nation, where you are is never as important as where you're going. A few days ago, I was flying to Cape kennedy with, among others, Walt Rostow, a distinguished scholar
PAGE 10
-2who currently serves as a special advisor to the president. The discussion was about America's decision to put sen on the moon in the 196's. hr. ostow commented that this decision was made like most really great Amer ican decisions: we didn't really know where we were vis-a-vis Ausians; we didn't know how we'd do it; we just settled on agocal, committed ourselves to it, and set off into the unknown. You will recall that resident aconedy announced our decision to go to the moon while speak ing at a dinner in oinami. Some of you were there. I have a film and sound record of that .ccasion, and thrill yet to the memory of that noent.
PAGE 11
because he set that high purpose, we began the expansion of our Un ivrsity system. Because of that purpose the people of Flor ida, in 1963, approved a t300 million bnd issue to build Florida ,tlantic University, and the Lniversity of West Florida, and a university at rlando, and Jun ior Colleges, and to expand our existing universities. The fall-out from that high purpose has chanted the history of Florida. I recall listening to General James Gavin at a small dinner in ralm Beach, when he first suggested a reane Corps. He recogn ized that young people today, as always, respond best to sane challenge that calls for their total
PAGE 12
-4commitment -that sets them on a Journey with only the stars as their guide. Today 3,543 young Americans are experiencing hardships and lonliness, and fulfillment, in many countries around the world because their Nation set them that high goal. The goal you have set for the United Fund in Jacksonville is a high one -if it has a flaw it is that it does not demand enough. Une of the factors which makes my job in Washington so satisfy ing is that it demands so much of me. The management of strategic stockpiles valued in billions and essential to our national survival; the preparation of plans for the regulation and allocation of our
PAGE 13
-5human and natural resources should war come; the direction of the response of this Nation to natural disasters which strike our people; the participation in deliberations of the National Security Council; the responsibility for the readiness and continuity of our governments should we be attacked; the role of Ambassador for the Fresident to the Governors of this Nation; these are large tasks and a constant challenge. Almost any day is for me a venture such as an astronaut takes -i step off in space without really knowing where I will land -only that I'm on the way. Florida has had many such experiences. I am sure no one in Florida had the remotest idea that we could absorb
PAGE 14
-6hundreds of thousands of Cubans as they fled from Castro. But we have! And still they come. Floridians have written a shining chapter in the history of freedom. I cannot let this occasion pass without expressing the appreciation which I feel, and which I know the president feels, for the steadfastness of the people of Florida in the face of the difficulties and sacrifices which are the costs of the conflict in Vietnam. It is not surprising that you who live so close to Cuba should have a special understanding of the threat which a Communist dictatorship poses for free men, but it is none-the-less gratifying that you do so.
PAGE 15
-7The task in Vietnam is not a simple one -certainly it is not an easy one. I am quite sure that no one wishes more than the president of the Lnited States that it was not our task. But we cannot expect others to honor our commitments if we do not honor them. We cannot expect others to stand for freedom if we do not. We cannot expect others to resist aggression if we run. Someone has said of Democracy that it is the worst form of government -except all others. I think it can be said of our policy in Vietnam that it is the worst policy -except all others.
PAGE 16
-8What we seek in is what we seek here It simply isn't to be crippled if we to make him whole. fietnam, really, t ujst ice. fair for a child have the capacity It simply isn't just for an older person, whom aye and misfortune has robbed, to live out his -or her -last years in loneliness and poverty, if we have the capacity to prevent it. We gather here in this organ ization to try to further the mof justice in a society, an economy, a political structure, which for all their advantages, all their achievements, do permit injustice. A hotgjustice as a product of power! If that were so, the strong
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