Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 2 (of 7) — John Shaqi
Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 2 (of 7)Roosevelt, Theodore
History
Presidential addresses and state papers, Volume 2 (of 7)
Roosevelt, Theodore
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919; United States -- Politics and government -- 1901-1909
I have told you that I wanted you not only to be decent, but to be
strong. These boys will not admire virtue of a merely anæmic type.
They believe in courage, in manliness. They admire those who have the
quality of being brave, the quality of facing life as life should be
faced, the quality that must stand at the root of good citizenship in
peace or in war. If you are to be effective as good Christians you
must possess strength and courage, or your example will count for
little with the young, who admire strength and courage. I want to see
you, the men of the Holy Name Society, you who embody the qualities
which the younger people admire, by your example give those young
people the tendency, the trend, in the right direction; and remember
that this example counts in many other ways besides cleanliness of
speech. I want to see every man able to hold his own with the strong,
and also ashamed to oppress the weak. I want to see each young fellow
able to do a man’s work in the world, and of a type which will not
permit imposition to be practiced upon him. I want to see him too
strong of spirit to submit to wrong, and, on the other hand, ashamed
to do wrong to others. I want to see each man able to hold his own in
the rough work of actual life outside, and also, when he is at home,
a good man, unselfish in dealing with wife, or mother, or children.
Remember that the preaching does not count if it is not backed up by
practice. There is no good in your preaching to your boys to be brave,
if you run away. There is no good in your preaching to them to tell
the truth if you do not. There is no good in your preaching to them
to be unselfish if they see you selfish with your wife, disregardful
of others. We have a right to expect that you will come together in
meetings like this; that you will march in processions; that you will
join in building up such a great and useful association as this; and,
even more, we have a right to expect that in your own homes and among
your own associates you will prove by your deeds that yours is not a
lip loyalty merely; that you show in actual practice the faith that is
in you.
ON BOARD THE _KEARSARGE_, DURING THE REVIEW OF THE FLEET, AUGUST 17,
1903
_Officers and Enlisted Men_:
I wish to say a word of thanks to you on behalf of the people of the
United States. There are many public servants whom I hold in high
esteem, but there are no others whom as a class I hold in quite the
esteem I do the officers and enlisted men of the navy and the army of
the United States.
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