March 15, 1972

Spent a day recently talking politics with a large group of high school students taking part in the University For Young Americans - a unique program operated by Baldwin-Wallace College to give Ohio youth an opportunity to pick the brains of adult leaders.

Each Saturday, B-W conducts a seminar on a topic selected by the young people themselves. I was asked to participate at Orrville on the topic "The Role of Young People in Politics."

On the whole, I found these youth intelligent, aware, motivated and informed at about the same degree as any hand-picked group of adults. In other words, the young folks were no more, and no less, elite than their elders - a fact I personally find reassuring.

Our young people are just as responsible and practical as their parents. They are somewhat prejudiced and naive - but no more so than adults.

The most disturbing question asked me was "When do politicians cease to be politicians and become people?"

I was so taken aback by the query that I am afraid I did not answer it as convincingly as I wanted. I wish I had said it in more detail as follows:

Politicians are people. They are not a special interest operating outside the general members of society. As a matter of fact, politicians are the broth of people because they are freely chosen on the basis they express the desires of people.

You may disagree strongly with politicians, but their strength comes from the people.

It is fashionable in some circles today to bad-mouth politics - to link it with greed, graft, corruption.

Indeed, the terms "smoke filled rooms," "pork-barrel," "log-rolling," "gerrymander," "ward-heeler," "fat cats," "spoils system" are emotional clichs frequently used to describe politics.

But when we take an objective, historical look at politics we find something entirely different.

Politics is the cement which holds civilization together.

The word "civilization" means to live together in a city. As we come closer together our diverse needs and desires - at once the curse and blessing of thinking man - come into conflict.

Politics is the ancient art of reconciling the most destructive of these conflicts so that people can focus their energies on important undertakings.

Politics is nothing more than a process of compromise.

Without compromise we do not have politics, we have confrontation. Confrontation is jungle rule, the strongest, most ruthless animal takes all. The weak and unwary die. It's that simple.

At any given moment, politics represents the will of the people. It changes as people change. It is an extension, therefore, of human nature. Politics is imperfect because human nature is imperfect. Politics will improve as we improve.

And I am happy to say that both mankind and politics gets better with each generation. Only if you do a better job than those of us on this platform have done, will we feel our own lives were successes.

In the United States, politics is particularly exciting and dull, rewarding and frustrating, dynamic and lethargic.

I know this seems paradoxical, but extremes characterize the two-party system unique to America.

With only two parties, the conflict of politics is reduced to its simplest form. Who is against whom is clearly evident. It is as elemental as a fist fight. As a matter of fact we call it "adversary" politics. It is extremely exciting.

Finally, however, the conflict has to cease - from mutual exhaustion if nothing else. Withdrawing gracefully, working out an agreement, writing down the rules - all this is tedious and dull. But just as peace is the only thing that gives significance to war, compromise is the necessary antidote to conflict.

Politics is frustrating because it often circumscribes our desires, cuts it off short of our full wishes. Yet politics is rewarding because it enables us to move masses of people toward common, worthwhile goals - even if maddeningly slow.

Because each person is an individual - with different degrees of education, experience, and motivation - commanding their attention, and inducing them to act is a most difficult task. The more people, the harder the task.

In a huge country like the United States the slow process of reaching consensus - of deciding goals - is lethargic in comparison with such forms of government as - say - the dictatorship of Cuba, or the military rule of Egypt, or the committee rule of Russia. In the final analysis - however, American politics is dynamic because it gets things done better, with the least sacrifice of personal freedom.

Republicans and Democrats contend with each other, no holds barred. And - yes - we often go too far. However, there are no fragment parties to share administrative control of government. There are no paralyzing coalitions that govern without ruling - as in most European countries.

As long as politics remains dynamic, our country will be great. We will make mistakes, but we will make many more successes - as we have. The ballot box gives, and the ballot box takes away. This is the heart of the whole matter.

Without politics civilization would quickly perish - and our cities crumble to dust - as our numbers dwindled to fit the tribal hunting society which alone can survive without politics.

With politics we can reorder our priorities as we wish, adjust our desires to harmonize with those of our neighbors and - most probably - finally attain peace on earth and good will among men.