If You Ask Me
by Eleanor Roosevelt

I simply meant that I felt this very good stage interpretation could have been that of any young woman going through the same kind of experience. It did not give me a feeling of watching myself or things exactly as they happened at the time, but this, I suppose, would be impossible.

Not until China can honestly say that her troops are withdrawn from North Korea and North Vietnam and that she is trying to be a peace-loving nation in every way. Since China cannot qualify as a member of the UN, I don't see that we can recognize her.

No[,] I don't think I have ever done so. I always prefer to be underdressed rather than overdressed. I often ask what the proper dress for an occasion is, which makes it easier not to make mistakes.

I would like to say that I never am shocked by what my grown children do. I assume they are able to judge for themselves and that they would never do anything which they did not feel was basically an honorable and wise thing to do. They may, of course, be mistaken, but they must find that out for themselves. I see no reason why a business firm should not act as consultant to the Government of Haiti or any other government if the advice is given honestly and with care. The case you mention happens to be a rather complicated one. The gentleman involved was a citizen of a number of countries. What should be done or not done, I do not know, but I am quite sure that my son John and his firm will give the matter serious consideration and in giving their advice will do so from honest conviction.

All I know is that it is wise to use the fingers as much as possible, and if they become very painful, there is a medicine to relieve the pain.

I do not remember exactly how I answered Mr. Churchill. I am rather sure that I told him my disapproval centered on minor things, such as keeping my husband at work for long hours and needing a great variety of arrangements made for his comfort and entertainment; but that basically, of course, I had always had the highest respect and admiration for him as a leader of his country.

I am sorry to say that I have never been able to feel that I was important enough to receive any kind of special guidance, but I am fairly sure that my husband felt that he had special guidance when he had difficult decisions to make. Most of us cannot feel that the decisions we have to make in everyday life are important enough to hope for a sense of special guidance.