Now let me turn, if I might, to the international dimension of the present crisis.  At no time in our peacetime history has the state of the Nation depended more heavily on the state of the world.  And seldom, if ever, has the state of the world depended more heavily on the state of our Nation.

The economic distress is global.  We will not solve it at home unless we help to remedy the profound economic dislocation abroad.  World trade and monetary structure provides markets, energy, food, and vital raw materials—­for all nations.  This international system is now in jeopardy.

This Nation can be proud of significant achievements in recent years in solving problems and crises.  The Berlin agreement, the salt agreements, our new relationship with China, the unprecedented efforts in the Middle East are immensely encouraging.  But the world is not free from crisis.  In a world of 150 nations, where nuclear technology is proliferating and regional conflicts continue, international security cannot be taken for granted.

So, let there be no mistake about it:  International cooperation is a vital factor of our lives today.  This is not a moment for the American people to turn inward.  More than ever before, our own well-being depends on America’s determination and America’s leadership in the whole wide world.

We are a great Nation—­spiritually, politically, militarily, diplomatically, and economically.  America’s commitment to international security has sustained the safety of allies and friends in many areas—­in the Middle East, in Europe, and in Asia.  Our turning away would unleash new instabilities, new dangers around the globe, which, in turn, would threaten our own security.

At the end of World War II, we turned a similar challenge into an historic opportunity and, I might add, an historic achievement.  An old order was in disarray; political and economic institutions were shattered.  In that period, this Nation and its partners built new institutions, new mechanisms of mutual support and cooperation.  Today, as then, we face an historic opportunity.  If we act imaginatively and boldly, as we acted then, this period will in retrospect be seen as one of the great creative moments of our Nation’s history.  The whole world is watching to see how we respond.

A resurgent American economy would do more to restore the confidence of the world in its own future than anything else we can do.  The program that this Congress passes can demonstrate to the world that we have started to put our own house in order.  If we can show that this Nation is able and willing to help other nations meet the common challenge, it can demonstrate that the United States will fulfill its responsibilities as a leader among nations.

Quite frankly, at stake is the future of industrialized democracies, which have perceived their destiny in common and sustained it in common for 30 years.