Whether we can fight a war of limited objectives over a period of time, and keep alive the hope of independence and stability for people other than ourselves; whether we can continue to act with restraint when the temptation to “get it over with” is inviting but dangerous; whether we can accept the necessity of choosing “a great evil in order to ward off a greater”; whether we can do these without arousing the hatreds and the passions that are ordinarily loosed in time of war—­on all these questions so much turns.

The answers will determine not only where we are, but “whither we are tending.”

A time of testing—­yes.  And a time of transition.  The transition is sometimes slow; sometimes unpopular; almost always very painful; and often quite dangerous.

But we have lived with danger for a long time before, and we shall live with it for a long time yet to come.  We know that “man is born unto trouble.”  We also know that this Nation was not forged and did not survive and grow and prosper without a great deal of sacrifice from a great many men.

For all the disorders that we must deal with, and all the frustrations that concern us, and all the anxieties that we are called upon to resolve, for all the issues we must face with the agony that attends them, let us remember that “those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”

But let us also count not only our burdens but our blessings—­for they are many.

And let us give thanks to the One who governs us all.

Let us draw encouragement from the signs of hope—­for they, too, are many.

Let us remember that we have been tested before and America has never been found wanting.

So with your understanding, I would hope your confidence, and your support, we are going to persist—­and we are going to succeed.

***

State of the Union Address
Lyndon B. Johnson
January 17, 1968

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the Congress, and my fellow
Americans: 

I was thinking as I was walking down the aisle tonight of what Sam Rayburn told me many years ago:  The Congress always extends a very warm welcome to the President—­as he comes in.

Thank all of you very, very much.

I have come once again to this Chamber—­the home of our democracy—­to give you, as the Constitution requires, “Information of the State of the Union.”

I report to you that our country is challenged, at home and abroad: 

—­that it is our will that is being tried, not our strength; our sense of purpose, not our ability to achieve a better America;

—­that we have the strength to meet our every challenge; the physical strength to hold the course of decency and compassion at home; and the moral strength to support the cause of peace in the world.

And I report to you that I believe, with abiding conviction, that this people—­nurtured by their deep faith, tutored by their hard lessons, moved by their high aspirations—­have the will to meet the trials that these times impose.