We're approaching the end of a bloody century plagued by a terrible political
invention
-- totalitarianism. Optimism comes less easily today, not because democracy is
less
vigorous, but because democracy's enemies have refined their instruments of
repression. Yet optimism is in order because day by day democracy is proving
itself to
be a not at all fragile flower. From Stettin on the Baltic to Varna on the Black
Sea, the
regimes planted by totalitarianism have had more than thirty years to establish
their
legitimacy. But none -- not one regime -- has yet been able to risk free
elections.
Regimes planted by bayonets do not take root.
The strength of the Solidarity movement in Poland demonstrates the truth told in
an
underground joke in the Soviet Union. It is that the Soviet Union would remain a
one-party nation even if an opposition party were permitted because everyone
would
join the opposition party....
Historians looking back at our time will note the consistent restraint and
peaceful
intentions of the West. They will note that it was the democracies who refused
to use
the threat of their nuclear monopoly in the forties and early fifties for
territorial or
imperial gain. Had that nuclear monopoly been in the hands of the Communist
world,
the map of Europe--indeed, the world--would look very different today. And
certainly
they will note it was not the democracies that invaded Afghanistan or suppressed
Polish
Solidarity or used chemical and toxin warfare in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.
If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant
facts is
folly. We see around us today the marks of our terrible dilemma--predictions of
doomsday, antinuclear demonstrations, an arms race in which the West must, for
its
own protection, be an unwilling participant. At the same time we see
totalitarian forces
in the world who seek subversion and conflict around the globe to further their
barbarous assault on the human spirit. What, then, is our course? Must
civilization
perish in a hail of fiery atoms? Must freedom wither in a quiet, deadening
accommodation with totalitarian evil?
Sir Winston Churchill refused to accept the inevitability of war or even that it
was
imminent. He said, "I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What
they desire is
the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines. But
what we
have to consider here today while time remains is the permanent prevention of
war and
the establishment of conditions of freedom and democracy as rapidly as possible
in all
countries."
Well, this is precisely our mission today: to preserve freedom as well as peace.
It may
not be easy to see; but I believe we live now at a turning point.
In an ironic sense Karl Marx was right. We are witnessing today a great
revolutionary
crisis, a crisis where the demands of the economic order are conflicting
directly with
those of the political order. But the crisis is happening not in the free,
non-Marxist
West but in the home of Marxism- Leninism, the Soviet Union. It is the Soviet
Union
that runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity
to its
citizens. It also is in deep economic difficulty. The rate of growth in the
national product
has been steadily declining since the fifties and is less than half of what it
was then.
The dimensions of this failure are astounding: a country which employs one-fifth
of its
population in agriculture is unable to feed its own people. Were it not for the
private
sector, the tiny private sector tolerated in Soviet agriculture, the country
might be on
the brink of famine. These private plots occupy a bare 3 percent of the arable
land but
account for nearly one-quarter of Soviet farm output and nearly one-third of
meat
products and vegetables. Overcentralized, with little or no incentives, year
after year
the Soviet system pours its best resources into the making of instruments of
destruction.
The constant shrinkage of economic growth combined with the growth of military
production is putting a heavy strain on the Soviet people. What we see here is a
political structure that no longer corresponds to its economic base, a society
where
productive forced are hampered by political ones.
The decay of the Soviet experiment should come as no surprise to us. Wherever
the
comparisons have been made between free and closed societies -- West Germany and
East Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, Malaysia and Vietnam -- it is the
democratic countries that are prosperous and responsive to the needs of their
people.
And one of the simple but overwhelming facts of our time is this: of all the
millions of
refugees we've seen in the modern world, their flight is always away from, not
toward
the Communist world. Today on the NATO line, our military forces face east to
prevent a possible invasion. On the other side of the line, the Soviet forces
also face
east to prevent their people from leaving.
The hard evidence of totalitarian rule has caused in mankind an uprising of the
intellect
and will. Whether it is the growth of the new schools of economics in America or
England or the appearance of the so-called new philosophers in France, there is
one
unifying thread running through the intellectual work of these groups --
rejection of the
arbitrary power of the state, the refusal to subordinate the rights of the
individual to the
superstate, the realization that collectivism stifles all the best human
impulses....
Chairman Brezhnev repeatedly has stressed that the competition of ideas and
systems
must continue and that this is entirely consistent with relaxation of tensions
and peace.
Well, we ask only that these systems begin by living up to their own
constitutions,
abiding by their own laws, and complying with the international obligations they
have
undertaken. We ask only for a process, a direction, a basic code of decency, not
for
an instant transformation.
We cannot ignore the fact that even without our encouragement there has been and
will
continue to be repeated explosion against repression and dictatorships. The
Soviet
Union itself is not immune to this reality. Any system is inherently unstable
that has no
peaceful means to legitimize its leaders. In such cases, the very repressiveness
of the
state ultimately drives people to resist it, if necessary, by force.
While we must be cautious about forcing the pace of change, we must not hesitate
to
declare our ultimate objectives and to take concrete actions to move toward
them. We
must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a
lucky
few but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings. So states the
United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, among other things,
guarantees
free elections.
The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure
of
democracy, the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities,
which
allows a people to choose their own way to develop their own culture, to
reconcile
their own differences through peaceful means.
This is not cultural imperialism; it is providing the means for genuine
self-determination
and protection for diversity. Democracy already flourishes in countries with
very
different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural
condescension, or
worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to democracy. Who would
voluntarily
choose not to have the right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda
handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer government to
worker-controlled
unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want
government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of
a free
choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and
diversity.
Since 1917 the Soviet Union has given covert political training and assistance
to
Marxist-Leninists in many countries. Of course, it also has promoted the use of
violence and subversion by these same forces. Over the past several decades,
West
European and other social democrats, Christian democrats, and leaders have
offered
open assistance to fraternal, political, and social institutions to bring about
peaceful and
democratic progress. Appropriately, for a vigorous new democracy, the Federal
Republic of Germany's political foundations have become a major force in this
effort.
We in America now intend to take additional steps, as many of our allies have
already
done, toward realizing this same goal. The chairmen and other leaders of the
national
Republican and Democratic party organizations are initiating a study with the
bipartisan
American Political Foundation to determine how the United States can best
contribute
as a nation to the global campaign for democracy now gathering force. They will
have
the cooperation of congressional leaders of both parties, along with
representatives of
business, labor, and other major institutions in our society. I look forward to
receiving
their recommendations and to working with these institutions and the Congress in
the
common task of strengthening democracy throughout the world.
It is time that we committed ourselves as a nation -- in both the public and
private
sectors -- to assisting democratic development....
What I am describing now is a plan and a hope for the long term -- the march of
freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of
history
as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the
self-expression of
the people. And that's why we must continue our efforts to strengthen NATO even
as
we move forward with our zero-option initiative in the negotiations on
intermediate-range forces and our proposal for a one-third reduction in
strategic
ballistic missile warheads.
Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we
maintain this
strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the
struggle
that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of
wills and
ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish,
the ideals to
which we are dedicated.
The British people know that, given strong leadership, time, and a little bit of
hope, the
forces of good ultimately rally and triumph over evil. Here among you is the
cradle of
self-government, the Mother of Parliaments. Here is the enduring greatness of
the
British contribution to mankind, the great civilized ideas: individual liberty,
representative government, and the rule of law under God.
I've often wondered about the shyness of some of us in the West about standing
for
these ideals that have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships
of our
imperfect world. This reluctance to use those vast resources at our command
reminds
me of the elderly lady whose home was bombed in the blitz. As the rescuers moved
about, they found a bottle of brandy she'd stored behind the staircase, which
was all
that was left standing. And since she was barely conscious, one of the workers
pulled
the cork to give her a taste of it. She came around immediately and said,
"Here now --
there now, put it back. That's for emergencies."
Well, the emergency is upon us. Let us be shy no longer. Let us go to our
strength. Let
us offer hope. Let us tell the world that a new age is not only possible but
probable.
During the dark days of the Second World War, when this island was incandescent
with courage, Winston Churchill exclaimed about Britain's adversaries,
"What kind of
people do they think we are?" Well, Britain's adversaries found out what
extraordinary
people the British are. But all the democracies paid a terrible price for
allowing the
dictators to underestimate us. We dare not make that mistake again. So, let us
ask
ourselves, "What kind of people do we think we are?" And let us
answer, "Free
people, worthy of freedom and determined not only to remain so but to help
others
gain their freedom as well."
Sir Winston led his people to great victory in war and then lost an election
just as the
fruits of victory were about to be enjoyed. But he left office honorably and, as
it turned
out, temporarily, knowing that the liberty of his people was more important than
the
fate of any single leader. History recalls his greatness in ways no dictator
will ever
know. And he left us a message of hope for the future, as timely now as when he
first
uttered it, as opposition leader in the Commons nearly twenty-seven years ago,
when
he said, "When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed
and at the
mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we
have
frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have," he said,
"come safely through
the worst."
Well, the task I've set forth will long outlive our own generation. But
together, we too
have come through the worst. Let us now begin a major effort to secure the best
-- a
crusade for freedom that will engage the faith and fortitude of the next
generation. For
the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people
are at
last free to determine their own destiny.