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Fifth, we must expand world trade. Having recognized in the Act of 1962
that we must buy as well as sell, we now expect our trading partners to
recognize that we must sell as well as buy. We are willing to give them
competitive access to our market, asking only that they do the same for
us.
Sixth, we must continue, through such measures as the interest equalization
tax, as well as the cooperation of other nations, our recent progress
toward balancing our international accounts.
This administration must and will preserve the present gold value of the
dollar.
Seventh, we must become better neighbors with the free states of the
Americas, working with the councils of the OAS, with a stronger Alliance
for Progress, and with all the men and women of this hemisphere who really
believe in liberty and justice for all.
Eighth, we must strengthen the ability of free nations everywhere to
develop their independence and raise their standard of living, and thereby
frustrate those who prey on poverty and chaos. To do this, the rich must
help the poor--and we must do our part. We must achieve a more rigorous
administration of our development assistance, with larger roles for private
investors, for other industrialized nations, and for international agencies
and for the recipient nations themselves.
Ninth, we must strengthen our Atlantic and Pacific partnerships, maintain
our alliances and make the United Nations a more effective instrument for
national independence and international order.
Tenth, and finally, we must develop with our allies new means of bridging
the gap between the East and the West, facing danger boldly wherever danger
exists, but being equally bold in our search for new agreements which can
enlarge the hopes of all, while violating the interests of none.
In short, I would say to the Congress that we must be constantly prepared
for the worst, and constantly acting for the best. We must be strong enough
to win any war, and we must be wise enough to prevent one.
We shall neither act as aggressors nor tolerate acts of aggression. We
intend to bury no one, and we do not intend to be buried.
We can fight, if we must, as we have fought before, but we pray that we
will never have to fight again. IX.
My good friends and my fellow Americans: In these last 7 sorrowful weeks,
we have learned anew that nothing is so enduring as faith, and nothing is
so degrading as hate.
John Kennedy was a victim of hate, but he was also a great builder of
faith--faith in our fellow Americans, whatever their creed or their color
or their station in life; faith in the future of man, whatever his
divisions and differences.
This faith was echoed in all parts of the world. On every continent and in
every land to which Mrs. Johnson and I traveled, we found faith and hope
and love toward this land of America and toward our people.
So I ask you now in the Congress and in the country to join with me in
expressing and fulfilling that faith in working for a nation, a nation that
is free from want and a world that is free from hate--a world of peace and
justice, and freedom and abundance, for our time and for all time to come.
***
State of the Union Address
Lyndon B. Johnson
January 4, 1965
On this Hill which was my home, I am stirred by old friendships.
Though total agreement between the Executive and the Congress is
impossible, total respect is important.
I am proud to be among my colleagues of the Congress whose legacy to their
trust is their loyalty to their Nation.
I am not unaware of the inner emotions of the new Members of this body
tonight.
Twenty-eight years ago, I felt as you do now. You will soon learn that you
are among men whose first love is their country, men who try each day to do
as best they can what they believe is right.
We are entering the third century of the pursuit of American union.
Two hundred years ago, in 1765, nine assembled colonies first joined
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