State of the Union | Page 6

keep man less than God means him to be.
We are moving toward that destiny, never more rapidly than we have moved in the last 4 years.
In this period we have built a military power strong enough to meet any threat and destroy any adversary. And that superiority will continue to grow so long as this office is mine--and you sit on Capitol Hill.
In this period no new nation has become Communist, and the unity of the Communist empire has begun to crumble.
In this period we have resolved in friendship our disputes with our neighbors of the hemisphere, and joined in an Alliance for Progress toward economic growth and political democracy.
In this period we have taken more steps toward peace--including the test ban treaty--than at any time since the cold war began.
In this period we have relentlessly pursued our advances toward the conquest of space.
Most important of all, in this period, the United States has reemerged into the fullness of its self-confidence and purpose. No longer are we called upon to get America moving. We are moving. No longer do we doubt our strength or resolution. We are strong and we have proven our resolve.
No longer can anyone wonder whether we are in the grip of historical decay. We know that history is ours to make. And if there is great danger, there is now also the excitement of great expectations.
AMERICA AND THE COMMUNIST NATIONSYet we still live in a troubled and perilous world. There is no longer a single threat. There are many. They differ in intensity and in danger. They require different attitudes and different answers.
With the Soviet Union we seek peaceful understandings that can lessen the danger to freedom.
Last fall I asked the American people to choose that course. I will carry forward their command.
If we are to live together in peace, we must come to know each other better.
I am sure that the American people would welcome a chance to listen to the Soviet leaders on our television--as I would like the Soviet people to hear our leaders on theirs.
I hope the new Soviet leaders can visit America so they can learn about our country at firsthand.
In Eastern Europe restless nations are slowly beginning to assert their identity. Your Government, assisted by the leaders in American labor and business, is now exploring ways to increase peaceful trade with these countries and with the Soviet Union. I will report our conclusions to the Congress.
In Asia, communism wears a more aggressive face. We see that in Viet-Nam. Why are we there ?
We are there, first, because a friendly nation has asked us for help against the Communist aggression. Ten years ago our President pledged our help. Three Presidents have supported that pledge. We will not break it now.
Second, our own security is tied to the peace of Asia. Twice in one generation we have had to fight against aggression in the Far East. To ignore aggression now would only increase the danger of a much larger war.
Our goal is peace in southeast Asia. That will come only when aggressors leave their neighbors in peace.
What is at stake is the cause of freedom and in that cause America will never be found wanting.
THE NON-COMMUNIST WORLDBut communism is not the only source of trouble and unrest. There are older and deeper sources--in the misery of nations and in man's irrepressible ambition for liberty and a better life.
With the free Republics of Latin America I have always felt--and my country has always felt--very special ties of interest and affection. It will be the purpose of my administration to strengthen these ties. Together we share and shape the destiny of the new world. In the coming year I hope to pay a visit to Latin America. And I will steadily enlarge our commitment to the Alliance for Progress as the instrument of our war against poverty and injustice in this hemisphere.
In the Atlantic community we continue to pursue our goal of 20 years--a Europe that is growing in strength, unity, and cooperation with America. A great unfinished task is the reunification of Germany through self-determination.
This European policy is not based on any abstract design. It is based on the realities of common interests and common values, common dangers and common expectations. These realities will continue to have their way--especially, I think, in our expanding trade and especially in our common defense.
Free Americans have shaped the policies of the United States. And because we know these realities, those policies have been, and will be, in the interest of Europe.
Free Europeans must shape the course of Europe. And, for the same reasons, that course has been, and will be, in our interest and in the interest of freedom.
I found this truth confirmed in my talks with European leaders in the last year. I hope to