If You Ask Me
by Eleanor Roosevelt

I do not think there would be any real antagonism, but people from the South might think it served their particular purposes to appear antagonistic. There might be a struggle between Senatorial courtesy and political expediency, but I would certainly be hopeful that Senatorial courtesy would always prevail.

I have always felt that prizefighting was a rather good sport, but I think that the rules should be revised and the referees chosen with greater care. I myself have little real knowledge of this sport, but many people whom I respect believe there is value in continuing boxing, with proper regulation.

Though it would be very hard to select a national flower, I guess I would chose the rose, because it is grown successfully in most parts of the country and there are enough varieties so that people may have whatever color and size they like best.

I am quite sure I would not have been a conscientious objector. My religion does not happen to require that kind of action. I have a very strong feeling that, much as I deplore war, if this is the way we carry our burden of citizenship, I would not want somebody else to carry my burden.

I think courses should not be added to the teachers' work or the budgets unless they are considered basic and useful. Obviously, in a given community with a special problem that schools might help solve, the parents and teachers both must use their good judgment.

There will probably be a coolness in the relations between big business and the President for some little time to come. However, I think that, on the whole, business is coming to a better understanding of President Kennedy's position and recognizing his genuine desire for fair treatment for both business and labor.

No. I don't think I have given financial support on any large basis to any college or university. I have an interest in Harvard because my husband and all but one of my boys were educated there. I am also on the board of Brandeis University and have honorary degrees from a number of other universities and colleges.

I have no artistic gifts, I grieve to say. I would love to write fiction, because I think in many ways it can give a truer picture of life than one can possibly give any other way. However, I do not have this talent and have therefore had to make the most of what the good Lord chose to give me—namely, a rather quick mind, which has been trained for observation and analysis.

Children are human beings, and each is unique. What is a mistake with one may not be with another. Parents must study each child and meet his individual needs as best as they can. Perhaps what all of us need in our relationships with children is a clearer memory of our own childhoods.