"If one indoctrinates the youth of the country only with a desire to see the defects of our existing social order, is there not a danger that dissatisfaction will become so great that a spirit of hopeless futility will prevail? There comes a point when a man can become so convinced of the weakness of a structure that he is no longer interested in a sacrifice to preserve the foundation on which it rests.
Criticism Will Sap Strength
"Sufficient Indoctrination of 'awareness of the defects of the existing social order' will certainly sap the courage of many people, sap it to a point where willingness to fight becomes conspicuous by its absence. This is the danger on the one side which confronts any free democratic land.
"But the dangers on the other are equally menacing and real. To equate the status quo with perfection has been the insidious disease of every civilization. To stifle criticism is the method of all who have privilege and enjoy it. It is the method by which a ruling class endeavors to sustain through the generations its rights and power. Complacency will sap the courage of a nation as readily as will destructive self-criticism.
"But the golden mean is the hardest thing in the world to be maintained. This, it seems to me, is the first and foremost doctrine which we in our colleges and universities should seek to inculcate in our students.
Golden Mean Difficult
"The golden mean is, in a sense, illogical. But more important, it is hard or realization. It is a way of life. The golden mean is difficult of realization. The free way is a hard way of life. But that part is in itself a challenge, and it is a challenge which we should every day place before our youth.
"The history of this republic has been unique, not so much because of the growth of constitutional democracy but because of the social system. This system is a living embodiment of the golden mean of which I speak.
"I believe that it is this unique form of society which we are really arming to defend, a society which has grown up in the last two hundred years on this continent under unique conditions, and as a result has enabled us to formulate a new ideal."