FDR has a special on the History Channel. He's been referenced in the Social Security debate. And we are approaching the 60th anniversary of VE Day. Though he did not live to see the end of that war, FDR led this country for twelve years like no other president. He is a remarkable American and historically important, and we have forgotten him for too long.
So, as a tribute to FDR, here is a portion of his Message to the Congress in 1944, in which he lays out his Second Bill of Rights. He was too ill to leave the White House to appear before Congress to deliver the State of the Union, so he used his fireside chat format to speak to the nation over radio. I highly recommend Cass Sunstein's book, The Second Bill of Rights.
Here lies our legacy. Here lies the unfinished revolution.
This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights -- among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
As our Nation has grown in size and stature, however -- as our industrial economy expanded -- these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.
We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all -- regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the Nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens. For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.
One of the great American industrialists of our day -- a man who has rendered yeoman service to his country in this crisis -- recently emphasized the grave dangers of "rightist reaction" in this Nation. All clear-thinking businessmen share his concern. Indeed, if such reaction should develop -- if history were to repeat itself and we were to return to the so-called "normalcy" of the 1920's -- then it is certain that even though we shall have conquered our enemies on the battlefields abroad, we shall have yielded to the spirit of Fascism here at home.
I ask the Congress to explore the means for implementing this economic bill of rights -- for it is definitely the responsibility of the Congress so to do. Many of these problems are already before committees of the Congress in the form of proposed legislation. I shall from time to time communicate with the Congress with respect to these and further proposals. In the event that no adequate program of progress is evolved, I am certain that the Nation will be conscious of the fact.
Oh, a note to the Democratic Party...FDR was a fighter, even though he was crippled by polio. And he was a believer. I think he would like Howard Dean, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid. They are passionate and fight for what they believe in. But until we remove the corporate element from the Democratic Party, we won't succeed. Until we forget Wall Street and get back to Main Street, we will just continue the gradual drift backwards.
When the Great Depression hit, FDR did what was best for the people of this nation. He didn't kowtow to corporations. He wasn't worried about his portfolio. He was concerned with the average every day people. And he fought for them - from a wheelchair.
Most Democrats have two good legs, but only a fraction, if any, of the resolve, spirit and determination which possessed our greatest President.
Yeah, I said it...he was. Hands down. Depression, World War II, elected to four terms. Lincoln was great. And Washington was first. But FDR was a giant. No way he'd be elected today, which is a shame since it seems we desperately need someone of his caliber.
Obviously, he wasn't perfect. The internment camps are a huge scar on his legacy. But they weren't concentration camps. The track-record of the CIA over the last thirty years, believe it or not, would be far more heinous and criminal.