Sunday Reflection: Freedoms and More

Seventy-eight years ago today, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famous "Four Freedoms" State of the Union message to Congress, eleven months before Pearl Harbor. In it, Roosevelt warned of the gathering storm of authoritarian, Fascist regimes over the horizon. He called for increased U.S. arms production to supply the nations fighting against tyranny in Europe. And, of course, there were the four freedoms to be defended by democracies across the globe: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. There were also passages that echo through the decades:

"What I seek to convey is the historic truth that the United States as a nation has at all times maintained clear, definite opposition, to any attempt to lock us in behind an ancient Chinese wall while the procession of civilization went past. Today, thinking of our children and of their children, we oppose enforced isolation for ourselves or for any other part of the Americas." [snip]

"For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:

Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living. 

These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations. Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples:

We should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care.
We should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it."  (our emphasis)

Republicans have opposed these goals ever since they were first proposed by Roosevelt in 1941. They were, are now, and going forward will be on the wrong side of history.