Carter: Energy and the National Goals - A Crisis of Confidence Good Evening This a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for president of the United states. I promised you a President who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams, and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you During the past three years I've spoken to you on many occasions about nationa concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation's economy and issues of war and especially peace. But over those years the subjects of the speeches the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. Gradually you've heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be do ing and less and less about our nations hopes, our dreams and our vision of the future Ten days ago, I had pla nned to speak to you again about a very important subje energy. For the f if th time i would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as i was preparing to speak i began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling ma ny of you: Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem? It's clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper --deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inf lation or recession. And I ealize more than ever that as president i need your help. so, i decided to reach out and to listen to the voices of america I invited to Camp David people from almost every segment of our society business and labor, teachers and preachers, governors, mayors, and private citizens. And then I left Camp david to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. It has been an extraordinary ten days, and i want to share with you what First of all, I got a lot of personal advice. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that i wrote down This from a southern governor: Mr President, you are not leading this nation you're just managing the government
Jimmy Carter: "Energy and the National Goals - A Crisis of Confidence" Good Evening: This a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. I promised you a President who is not isolated f rom the people, who feels your pain, and who shares your dreams, and who draws his strength and his wisdom f rom you. During the past three years I’ve spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns, the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation’s economy, and issues of war and especially peace. But over those years the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. Gradually, you’ve heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing and less and less about our nation’s hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future. Ten days ago, I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject -- energy. For the fif th time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you: Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem? It’s clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper -- deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. So, I decided to reach out and to listen to the voices of America. I invited to Camp David people f rom almost every segment of our society -- business and labor, teachers and preachers, governors, mayors, and private citizens. And then I lef t Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. It has been an extraordinary ten days, and I want to share with you what I’ve heard. First of all, I got a lot of personal advice. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down. This f rom a southern governor: “Mr. President, you are not leading this nation -- you’re just managing the government
You dont see the people enough anymore. Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government but about an understanding of our common good Mr. President were in trouble Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow. Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation. This from a young woman in Pennsylvania: I feel so far from government. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power. And this from a young Chicano: Some of us have suffered from recession all our liv Some people have wasted energy but others havent had anything to waste And this from a religious leader: No material shortage can touch the important things like gods love for us or our love for one another And i like this one particu larly from a black woman who happens to be the mayor of a small Mississippi town: The big shots are not the only ones who are important Remember, you cant sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first This kind of summarized a lot of other statements Mr. President we are conf ronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis. Several of our discussions were on energy and i have a note book full of comments and advice. I'l read just a few. We cant go on consuming forty percent more energy then we produce. When we import oil we are also importing inf lation plus unemployment. Weve got to use what we have. the Middle east has only five percent of the worlds energy but the United States has twenty -four percent And th is is one of the most vivid statements Our neck is stretched over the fence and opec has a knife There will be other cartels and other shortages. American wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future
“You don’t see the people enough anymore.” “Some of your Cabinet members don’t seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples.” “Don’t talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good.” “Mr. President, we’re in trouble. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears.” “If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow.” Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation. This f rom a young woman in Pennsylvania: “I feel so far f rom government. I feel like ordinary people are excluded f rom political power.” And this f rom a young Chicano: “Some of us have suf fered f rom recession all our lives.” “Some people have wasted energy, but others haven’t had anything to waste.” And this f rom a religious leader: “No material shortage can touch the important things like God’s love for us or our love for one another.” And I like this one particularly f rom a black woman who happens to be the mayor of a small Mississippi town: “The big shots are not the only ones who are important. Remember, you can’t sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first.” This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: “Mr. President, we are conf ronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.” Several of our discussions were on energy, and I have a notebook full of comments and advice. I’ll read just a few. “We can’t go on consuming forty percent more energy then we produce. When we import oil we are also importing inflation plus unemployment.” “We’ve got to use what we have. The Middle East has only five percent of the world’s energy, but the United States has twenty-four percent.” And this is one of the most vivid statements: “Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife.” “There will be other cartels and other shortages. American wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future
This was a good one: Be bold, Mr. President. We may make mistakes but we are eady to experiment. And this one from a labor leader got to the heart of it The real issue is freedom. We must deal with the energy problem on a war footing And the last that I'll read: When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. President dont issue us bB guns These ten days conf irmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people but it also bore out some of my longstanding concerns about our nation's underlying problems I know, of course, being President that government actions and leg is lation can be very important That's why I've worked hard to put my campaign promises into law, and i have to admit with just mixed success. But after listening to the American people, i have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix nhat's wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you f irst tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inf lation I want to ta k to you right now about a undamental threat to American democracy. i do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And i do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways It is a crisis of conf idence It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our nationa l w ill. We can see this crisis in the grow ing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation The erosion of our conf idence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America The conf idence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the fourth of july. It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people Conf idence in the future has supported everything else - public institutions and private enterpr ise our own families, and the very constitution of the United states Confidence has def ined our course and has served as a link between generations We've always believed in something called progress. Weve always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own
This was a good one: “Be bold, Mr. President. We may make mistakes, but we are ready to experiment.” And this one from a labor leader got to the heart of it: “The real issue is freedom. We must deal with the energy problem on a war footing.” And the last that I’ll read: “When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. President, don’t issue us BB guns.” These ten days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people, but it also bore out some of my longstanding concerns about our nation’s underlying problems. I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That’s why I’ve worked hard to put my campaign promises into law, and I have to admit, with just mixed success. But af ter listening to the American people, I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July. It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else -- public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We’ve always believed in something called progress. We’ve always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. as a people know our past and we are proud of it Our progress has been part of the living tory of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itse lf called democracy involved in the search for freedom; and that belief has always strengthe ned us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our conf idence in the future we are also beginning to close the door on our past In a nation that was proud of hard work strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in God too many of us now tend to worship self -indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer def ined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consum ing things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no conf idence or purpose The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote The productivity of American workers is actually dropping and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world As you know there is a grow ing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance but it is the truth and it is a warning These changes did not happe n overnight. They ve come upon us gradua lly over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot not the bullet until the murders dy and robert Kennedy and martin Luther King Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just only to suffer the agony of Vietnam We respected the presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate. We remember when the phrase sound as a dollar" was an expression of absolute dependa bility, until ten years of inf lation began to shrink our dollar and our savings We believed that our nation 's resources were limitless until 1973 when we had to face a grow ing dependence on foreign oil. These wounds are still very deep they have never been healed Looking for a way out of this crisis, our people have turned to the Federal Government and found it isolated from the mainstream of our nation s life Washington, D.C. has become an island The gap between our citizens and our
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for f reedom; and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self -indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we’ve discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We’ve learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning. These changes did not happen overnight. They’ve come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam. We respected the Presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate. We remember when the phrase “sound as a dollar” was an expression of absolute dependability, until ten years of inflation began to shrink our dollar and our savings. We believed that our nation’s resources were limitless until 1973 when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. These wounds are still very deep. They have never been healed. Looking for a way out of this crisis, our people have turned to the Federal Government and found it isolated f rom the mainstream of our nation’s life. Washington, D.C., has become an island. The gap between our citizens and our
government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers clear leadership not false claims and evasiveness and politics as of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and What you see too of ten in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a syste pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You of ten see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrif ice, a little sacrif ice from everyone abandoned like an orphan ithout support and without friends Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You dont like it and neither do I What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply ust have faith in each other, faith in our a bility to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation restor ing that faith and that conf idence to amer ica is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans One of the visitors to Camp David last week put it this way: We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from the White House but from every house in America We know the strength of America. We are strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the great Depression, who fought world wars and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world We ourselves are the same Americans who just ten years ago put a man on the moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process, rebuild the unity and conf idence of America We are at a turning point in our history. there are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self -interest Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. that path would be one of constant conf lict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure
government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual. What you see too of ten in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You of ten see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice f rom everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without f riends. Of ten you see paralysis and stagnation and drif t. You don’t like it, and neither do I. What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans. One of the visitors to Camp David last week put it this way: “We’ve got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come f rom the White House, but f rom every house in America.” We know the strength of America. We are strong. We can regain our unity. We can regain our confidence. We are the heirs of generations who survived threats much more powerful and awesome than those that challenge us now. Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world. We ourselves are the same Americans who just ten years ago put a man on the moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality. And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem and in that process, rebuild the unity and confidence of America. We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I’ve warned about tonight, the path that leads to f ragmentation and self -interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of f reedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure