Presidential Addresses 



derstand one another's position, one another's needs, 

 and also the desire each to help his brother as well 

 as to help himself. To do that wisely, wisely to 

 strive with that as the aim, is not very easy. Many 

 qualities are needed in order that we can contribute 

 our mite toward the upward movement of the world 

 among them the quality of self-abnegation, and 

 yet combined with it the quality which will refuse 

 to submit to injustice. 1 want to preach the two 

 qualities going hand in hand. I do not want a man 

 to fail to try to strive for his own betterment, I do 

 not want him to be quick to yield to injustice; I 

 want him to stand for his rights; but I want him 

 to be very certain that he knows what his rights 

 are, and that he does not make them the wrongs 

 of some one else. 



I have a great deal of faith in the average Ameri 

 can citizen. I think he is a pretty good fellow, 

 and I think he can generally get on with the other 

 average American citizen if he will only know him. 

 If he does not know him, but makes him a monster 

 in his mind, then he will not get on with him. But 

 if he will take the trouble to know him and realize 

 that he is a being just like himself, with the same 

 instincts, not all of them good, the same desire to 

 overcome those that are not good, the same purposes, 

 the same tendencies, the same short-comings, the 

 same desires for good, the same need of striving 

 against evil; if he will realize all this, then if you 

 can get the two together with an honest desire each 

 ' to try not only to help himself but to help the other, 



