The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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HYDE PARK, N.Y., Monday.—On Decoration Day at Hyde Park, as in every other place throughout the country, the cemeteries are visited by the patriotic organizations and the graves of the soldiers are decorated. Many families also take this day as one remembrance to their own loved ones.

The Roosevelt Home Club of Hyde Park and other local organizations jointly hold a service on Memorial Day. The service takes place in the rose garden near my husband's grave, and is usually attended by many of his old friends and associates.

This year Senator and Mrs. Herbert H. Lehman will be with us. The Senator will give the memorial address. It was a very beautiful service because of the peace and serenity of the surroundings. The high hedge around the rose garden seems to shut out the world and all its troubles. One can think of the past with loving memory and of the future with greater expectation.

I hope that throughout our country on this Memorial Day all of us, particularly those who served in World War II, will be thinking of how their country can avoid another war. It is true that we must be strong—weak people are always vulnerable. It is not enough, however, to be strong in a military and economic way, we must be strong spiritually and morally. The struggle against forces of Communism in the USSR is not purely to be won by material strength. I believe that the young people in the world today, even those in Russia itself, want peace.

There is really no basic ill will among the people of the world. There is fear which breeds suspicion. This is largely created by governments—often out of a sense of a deep responsibility to protect their own people. If the truth were allowed to flow freely among the peoples of the world I do not think there would be another war.

No one expects that we can cease to have misunderstandings; that we can change human nature over night and stop all greed and jealousies, but, by making full use of the United Nations we can minimize the results of the weaknesses, inherent in human nature, and gradually develop into a better human race.

Let us join in reverence to those who have saved our country and our freedom in the past. Let us pray for wisdom and courage; that we may be given guidance and patience to help the world reach the high ideals that must be achieved if we are to live together in peace.

E.R.


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, May 30, 1950

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

El Paso Herald-Post, , MAY 30, 1950

Nevada State Journal, , MAY 31, 1950

Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
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  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
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  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
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  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
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  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
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Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

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Transcription created from a published My Day column instance. El Paso Herald-Post, MAY 30, 1950, page 5 Nevada State Journal, MAY 31, 1950, page 4