| Show Let Lets Let's s Kee Keep P PF Washington's Ame America ica IF F ANY AMERICAN in the history of our great country typifies the spirit of American individual initiative and insistence on freedom from dictatorial domination it is the man whose birthday birthday birthday birth birth- day we celebrate today today George George Washington the military commander commander commander com com- mander whose genius made possible our national independence and the first president whose wise leadership guided the young n nation tion in in its e early years and established the broad pattern forthe for forthe forthe the American democratic system which has s seen en a small weak pioneer c country develop into the richest and most powerful nat nation na na- nation t tion n on th the fa face e of the globe 1 It id is a good thing on Washington's birthday to look ook back backover backover over the he years year to th the time tune of that great P patriot and founder of the country countr y and see just what it is that has made America tick what what it is that made madeus us grow what grow what it it- is that made the America of Washington's time the America we know today It is well for us to todo do that because we are arc now going through a n great period of f national crisis as we have done before in our history and history and we want to be mighty sure that in this crisis we do donot donot not lose touch with the Ule fundamentals of Americanism that Americanism that we wedo wedo wedo do not not lose lose the kind of America which we have loved and which through the years has been so 50 progressive so prosperous and such Buch a fine place in which to live Many individuals and many groups have Dave been urging the c country to think about the American pattern of life as as as' it was as established by Washington and the patriots who founded this country country to to think about bout it and to make up their minds that we must keep that kind of an America in the future One of the best such projects to come to our attention is that being car carried ed and in the nation If It seeks out by Kiwanis clubs here elsewhere through advertising and other promotional and educational means to spread the conviction n among the people that we must keep America erica American It t argues convincingly that our men in the armed services are fig fighting ting not for some vague theoretical cal new kind of at America but for the America they have known They rhey want to come back to the America they left an America of freedom and opportunity and prosperity under the banner of democracy Basic points of the America we want to preserve says the Kiwanis club are freedom to worship God according to ones one's own conscience freedom of speech and of the press freedom of opportunity opportunity to insure that an individuals individual's destiny is his own to to shape and nd establish freedom o of education which admits the whole and nd undistorted truth troth about the world in which we live live all all of which will keep America the land of hope and of wholesome happiness One of the mos most important points in that list is fr freedom edom of opportunity which is just another way of saying freedom of enterprise It is freedom of enterprise which has made possible the tremendous growth and prosperity America has achieved in inthe the last century and a half Freedom of enterprise has has' develd developed devel devel- sped ped d our resources built our farms and cities created jobs jobs' and paid high wages It has bas J made de it possible for a poor farm boy or immigrant grant to become a ab bank president or a factory manager a Lincoln a Carnegie or a Ford It has made an American aristocracy aris arise impossible It has ma made Americans inventive enterprising ing industrious d and prosperous Has it matte mate America perfect Of course not But the American way of freedom isn't through yet by any nY means The The same ame progress which the American system has made possible through the years from the day of Washington can and will continue continue continue con con- in th the future future if if we but give that system a a chance Keeping Keeping Keep Keep- ing lug America American doesn't mean keeping it static any more than a n century and a 8 half ago it meant keeping America a nation of 13 states along the Atlantic seaboard with oil lamps stagecoaches stagecoaches stagecoaches stage stage- coaches and and homespun clothing What it means is keeping the system m which has made possible all the marv marvelous lous progress we have nave made mad in the past past and and which assuredly will make possible Just lust as grea great progress in the future |
