Senator, Judge, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Justice, Governor,
gentlemen:
I want to, as President, express
my appreciation to all those whose efforts make this breakfast possible.
This is only one of a worldwide effort, I believe, to build a closer and
more intimate association among those of different faiths in different
countries and in different continents, who are united by a common belief
in God, and therefore united in a common commitment to the moral order
- and as Governor Daniels said, the relationship of the individual to the
state.
The effort made in New Delhi
among the World Council of Churches, the efforts that have been made in
Europe to build better understanding among men and women of different faiths,
the effort made in this country, I believe are most important and most
essential.
I do not suggest that religion
is an instrument of the cold war. Rather it is the basis of the issue which
separates us from those who make themselves our adversary. And at the heart
of the matter, of course, is the position of the individual - his importance,
his sanctity, his relationship to his fellow men, his relationship to his
country and his state. This is in essence the struggle, and it is necessary,
therefore, that in these difficult days, when men and women who have strong
religious convictions are beleaguered by those who are neither hot nor
cold, or by those who are icy cold, it is most important that we make these
common efforts - as we do this morning. So I congratulate you all, and
express appreciation to you and hope that it will serve as an inspiration
to others in other parts of our country.
I believe yesterday we saw an
interesting contrast in the response which Colonel Glenn made as to whether
he had prayed, and he said that he had not, that he had made his peace
with his Maker many years before, and the statement made by Titov in which
during his flight, as he flew over the Soviet Union he realized, he said,
the wonders of the Communist system.
I preferred Colonel Glenn's
answer because I thought it was so solidly based, in his own life, in his
activities in his church, and I think reflects a quality which we like
to believe and I think we can believe is much a part of our American heritage.
So I congratulate you.
In our program this morning
there is a quotation from Lincoln which I think is particularly applicable
today. He said, "I believe there is a God. I see the storm coming and I
believe He has a hand in it. If He has a part and place for me, I believe
that I am ready."
We see the storm coming, and
we believe He has a hand in it, and if He has a place and a part for us,
I believe that we are ready.
[The President spoke first to the gentlemen in the hotel's main ball room and then to the ladies in the state and east rooms.]
Ladies:
Last year I expressed some concern
that instead of having been separated at these breakfasts - the pharisees
and the publicans and the sinners and the saints - that the separation
occurred on the basis of sex and not on those who should have been in the
front room and those who were in the back room.
I do want to say, however -
express my appreciation to you for the effort that you are making, to tell
you how valuable I think it is that in this Capital of this most important
country, upon which so much depends, that these breakfasts should be held,
and that this demonstration of our commitment should be made.
We bear great responsibilities
and great burdens not only to ourselves in this country but to so many
around the world whose future hangs in the balance and depends so much
on us.
We may not feel that our efforts
are always appreciated, and I am not sure that that is so important, but
we want to make sure that our efforts are effective, and that this generation
- which faces the greatest challenges that any country, any free people,
have ever faced, and moves in the midst of the greatest of opportunities
and the greatest of dangers - that we shall meet our responsibility, which
carries with it an obligation to our country, but I think in a larger sense
carries with it an obligation to all those who desire to live a life of
freedom and a life which permits them to participate with their neighbors
and with God in the way they choose.
So I commend you for the example
you set to us all. Upon your conviction and your effort so much depends,
and it is a source of satisfaction to be here with Mrs. Johnson, the Vice
President's wife, and with the Governor of Texas - and Senator Carlson
- Senator Stennis - most importantly, I think, of Reverend Billy Graham,
who has served this cause about which I speak so well here and around the
world. He has, I think, transmitted this most important quality of our
common commitments to faith in a way which makes us all particularly proud.
So we are glad to see you this
morning, and we appreciate what you are doing.