Fraternity-Testvériség, 1960 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1960-10-01 / 10. szám
2 FRATERNITY REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON AT THE MEETING OF THE AMERICAN NATIONALITIES COMMITTEE September 19, 1960 — Washington, D. C. I have been thinking of those ideas that would perhaps be of greatest interest to this group. I first would like to say that I feel very humble in the presence of this group in which are so many who have led the fight for freedom through the years, long before I ever came into public life. You have led it at times when the hope was very small for ever achieving your goal, and you lead it now when the hope of achieving your ultimate goal could not be as bright as you would wish. But you have kept alive the dreams and the aspirations and the hopes of millions of people that they can be free, and for this I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank you not only as an individual but as a representative of our Government speaking for the American people and our greatest ideals. Another thing that impresses me about this group is that when you look over the lists and when you see all of the various nationality groups that you represent, it makes one realize why America really is a great country. You know people often say when discussing the greatness of America that this greatness is due to different factors. If you were to ask the question, “Why is America a great country?”, just off the cuff to various people, they would give you different answers. Some would say America is a great country because it is the strongest nation in the world militarily. It is. Others might say America is the richest country, it has the highest standard of living in the world and that is, of course, another measure of greatness. And others might say America is a great country because we have the greatest resources in the world, natural resources, and I would imagine that we still have the greatest natural resources, much as we have used our resources in the 185 years of our history. But greatness is something more than military strength, something more than productivity of factories. To the Communists that is all that greatness is, but to us greatness is something far more significant. A country is only as great and only as strong as its adherence to lasting ideals is great and strong and firm. And what we must never forget these days is that we came into the world wanting not only to get freedom and independence for ourselves but also to stand for freedom and independence to people everywhere in the world. This is the American ideal and as long as we remember this America will continue to be called great. Another element of greatness, of course, is in the make-up of this group. Have you ever stopped to consider who are the American people? This is not a master race in the sense that the dictators have used, but the Americans, the people we call the Americans, come from all the nations of the world. We come from all continents, from all countries, from all races and all religions, and what better evidence of it than here?
