If You Ask Me
by Eleanor Roosevelt

No. You are assuming something which you have no reason to assume. I happen to believe in Christ as being the Son of God, but he did come to earth as a man, and it was the value of his perfect life as a man which has made his example so important to the world. As you doubtless realize, we are taught that every human spirit has something of the divine. That is the basis on which we feel that all human personality is worthy of respect and that men have inherent rights derived from God.

If you will read the records of the U.N. you will find many speeches in which I have been strongly opposed to Communism. You will find this is true in my other speeches too.

I am afraid you would like me to say that I think it is because of conditions which existed anyway, but as far as I have been able to discover in talking to farmers and livestock men they feel that recently enacted policies have brought about the present situation. I am unable to form an opinion, since I have no experience in this field.

I did not, because I didn't happen to live in an area where that was possible. I went to private schools until I went abroad to school. In Europe people of many nationalities were in the same school, so I suppose my European school could be called a nonsegregated school. Many of my grandchildren have gone to schools which were completely nonsegregated.

I have never said I was opposed to capital punishment in any single case. I have said I was opposed to capital punishment in general, because it does not achieve the results we hope for. Many who have been in prison work their entire lives are convinced that capital punishment does not discourage crime, and many countries which have done away with it have found their crime conditions did not become worse but in some cases better. I think it is evident, therefore, that it is not the best kind of punishment for the worst crimes.

No. I don't own a single share of stock in the company.

This question is not one of sympathies, it is a question of thinking out what can be done to reduce the tensions which bring about bad situations. I think there is blame on both sides, but I think only the U.N., through its impartial commissions, can judge correctly where it lies.

I said that most Indians do not understand what we mean when we speak of the kind of drive needed to achieve the Horatio Alger type of success, since they have been for generations geared to renunciation.

I think there are a good many Christians in this country who can still square the Horatio Alger story with Christianity, because as long as you are considerate of others there is no reason why you can't put great drive into helping yourself as well as others.

No, I don't think this was really possible. What he really said was that he could not find any Jewish ancestors, but that if he did have Jewish blood in his veins he would be proud of it.