In the last decade, while we sought the moderation of Soviet power through a process of restraint and accommodation, the Soviets engaged in an unrelenting buildup of their military forces.  The protection of our national security has required that we undertake a substantial program to enhance our military forces.

We have not neglected to strengthen our traditional alliances in Europe and Asia, or to develop key relationships with our partners in the Middle East and other countries.  Building a more peaceful world requires a sound strategy and the national resolve to back it up.  When radical forces threaten our friends, when economic misfortune creates conditions of instability, when strategically vital parts of the world fall under the shadow of Soviet power, our response can make the difference between peaceful change or disorder and violence.  That’s why we’ve laid such stress not only on our own defense but on our vital foreign assistance program.  Your recent passage of the Foreign Assistance Act sent a signal to the world that America will not shrink from making the investments necessary for both peace and security.  Our foreign policy must be rooted in realism, not naivete or self-delusion.

A recognition of what the Soviet empire is about is the starting point.  Winston Churchill, in negotiating with the Soviets, observed that they respect only strength and resolve in their dealings with other nations.  That’s why we’ve moved to reconstruct our national defenses.  We intend to keep the peace.  We will also keep our freedom.

We have made pledges of a new frankness in our public statements and worldwide broadcasts.  In the face of a climate of falsehood and misinformation, we’ve promised the world a season of truth—­the truth of our great civilized ideas:  individual liberty, representative government, the rule of law under God.  We’ve never needed walls or minefields or barbed wire to keep our people in.  Nor do we declare martial law to keep our people from voting for the kind of government they want.

Yes, we have our problems; yes, we’re in a time of recession.  And it’s true, there’s no quick fix, as I said, to instantly end the tragic pain of unemployment.  But we will end it.  The process has already begun, and we’ll see its effect as the year goes on.

We speak with pride and admiration of that little band of Americans who overcame insuperable odds to set this nation on course 200 years ago.  But our glory didn’t end with them.  Americans ever since have emulated their deeds.

We don’t have to turn to our history books for heroes.  They’re all around us.  One who sits among you here tonight epitomized that heroism at the end of the longest imprisonment ever inflicted on men of our Armed Forces.  Who will ever forget that night when we waited for television to bring us the scene of that first plane landing at Clark Field in the Philippines, bringing our POW’s home?  The plane door opened and Jeremiah Denton came slowly down the ramp.  He caught sight of our flag, saluted it, said, “God bless America,” and then thanked us for bringing him home.