Great Society Speech: Main Idea
Great Society Speech: Main Idea
We've Got to Do Better
In Lyndon Johnson's vision of a Great Society, America fell short in three specific areas:
- Cities
- The environment
- Public education.
Those trouble spots were closely linked to other issues that the president cared about deeply, particularly poverty and civil rights.
When the president gave his Great Society speech to the University of Michigan's Class of 1964, he challenged the new graduates to think creatively and act responsibly. He also pledged to build a partnership between the federal government and local communities so that the people his programs were designed to help would have a say in how those programs were run.
Questions
- Why was the Great Society a good topic for a graduation speech?
- What is "creative federalism"?
- What did the president mean when he said the Great Society is a "challenge constantly renewed"?
Chew On This
Wake up, people. Even Thomas Jefferson knew that "That government is best which governs least." The Great Society is out of control.
The Great Society had the most dramatic and positive impact on American life since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.
Quotes
Quote #1
The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. (7)
Hat tip to the Declaration of Independence ("life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness").
Quote #2
[The Great Society] is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and loneliness. (18)
Ever heard the saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop"? It means folks who have nothing to do often get in trouble. A Great Society provides options for our downtime: Read a good book, or write one. Go to a cool concert. Visit a beautiful park with some friends.
Quote #3
A few years ago we were greatly concerned about the "Ugly American." Today we must act to prevent an ugly America. (49-50)
The Ugly American was a 1958 novel (and 1963 film) that portrayed American diplomats overseas as incompetent, uncaring, and generally unwilling to listen to local people. Ouch. This quote introduces the part of the speech about taking care of the environment. But it could also be a reminder that Americans need to consider the wants and needs of their neighbors. You know, don't throw your trash on the highway…and don't put someone down for being different from you.
Quote #4
Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty. (67)
If you don't have shoes or can't afford lunch, you might not want to go to school. If your job brings in money your family really needs, you might not be able to go to school. On the flipside, without a good education, it's much more difficult to get a good job. Did you know? The federal government has been providing free and low-cost lunches to poor students since 1946, pre-LBJ.
Quote #5
You can help build a society where the demands of morality, and the needs of the spirit, can be realized in the life of the Nation. (84)
The "demands of morality" (decent living conditions, equal opportunities, fair treatment) are on the same level as the "needs of the spirit" (creativity, art, nature). A Great Society can't have one without the other. The key point of this statement is that the government can do things to make this happen—it doesn't just have to sit around wishing this were true.