It was one of the jewels in his crown as an national teacher of human ethics. In fact, it was a symbol of the culmination of Rheiny's career commencing from his days on the picket lines in Detroit when both his sympathies and his philosophy were essentially communist. But interestingly and significantly, his mind was not on this legislative victory. It was on something else. Niebuhr never paused for self-congratulation, never wasted time on feeling satisfied.
Happiness burns merit.
He was disciplined, not self-indulgent. Our conversation was slow and careful rather than brisk and animated. He did not mean the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He meant the entire matter of civil rights and race relations in the United States. He was asking a question about a very broad subject indeed.