"I have heard it often- that if the conquered peoples of Europe do not like our democracy the way it is, they can go fly a kite. It is absolutely true that a great majority of us found the old life very comfortable and would like to go back to the "normality" that produced it; but... we destroyed that "normality" trying to save our lives and cannot now go back to it any more than we can turn 1943 back into 1938. Nor can we tell the conquered peoples of Europe to go fly a kite if they do not like our democracy, because we need their help and will need it desperately before the war is over, and in order to get it we shall have to remove the doubts that are in their minds. That means that the people of America must look forward and not backward. That means that we must prove that our democracy is just as efficient as the totalitarian creed of our enemies. That means that we must make democracy live up to its promises. "Most governments," said Abraham Lincoln, "have been based on the denial of the equal rights of men; ours began by affirming those rights. We made the experiment, and the fruit is before us. Look at it- think of it." The democracy of Lincoln is not dead. It has not lost its revolutionary fervor. It has not lost its appeal to the men of the world. Our problem is to prove that we really believe in it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
pp. 214–215
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/World_War_II
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
World War II
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1941 to 1967 It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. In a state of total war, directly involving more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries, the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the dist
210 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by World War II →
Related Quotes
"We have long memories. We have developed a relative immunity to the endless barrage of propaganda, slander and outrig…"
"I was there."
"Nova Lee Holbrook, on how her experience in war work was invaluable."
"On the eve of World War II, Japan was a thriving industrialized power of about seventy million people. The nation had…"
"To a striking degree, the way the United States conducted World War II was a consequence of Roosevelt’s own experienc…"
"It might have been the greatest lost weapon of World War II. Major-General JFC Fuller, the man credited with developi…"
"The sirens blow, and death is in the air Still at her post the trusty Captain stands, And counts her change, and scam…"
"It gave me a good start in life. I decided that if I could learn to weld like a man, I could do anything it took to m…"
"Those Americans who went to Spain to fight Franco and stave off World War II have never minded being called "prematur…"
"World War II, at least in Europe, may have had some moral justification, though there can be some legitimate debate a…"