Milford chronicle., 1959-07-03


nature of the life processes, and
find ways to extend mans life, and
to make his life more comfortable
and happy.
In short, communism sees in
science an immense frontier to be
conquered. The question we face is
this: are we going to let them
dominate this great new frontier.
and so domiate humanity? If the
answer is no, what are we going to
do?
B. Another frontier is commune
cation between peoples around the
world. If you cannot communicate
with other people 1t is hard for
you to understand them, or for
them to understand you. If there
is no understanding, then there is
not likely to be mutual trust. If
there is no trust, then cooperation
is difficult, and without coopera-
ton the world we know might des-
troy itself in another war.
This means that the means of
communication between peoples,
including the study of foreign lam
guages, is peculiarly important to-
day. While our ancestors were
busy creating one nation out of
many different peoples, speaking
many languages, the most import
ant aspect Of language instruction
was to make sure that all Ameri-
cans could use English. AS a re-
suit, the teaching of foreign lang
uages was neglected.
Today it is imperative that the
peoples of our world understand
each other, and are able to work
together peacefully for the COM
mon good. Here the Soviet student
has a substantial advantage over
most of you. All Soviet high school
graduates must have completed at
least six years of preparation in
a foreign language. About forty
per cent of them study English,
and the others specialize in such
languages as French and German
and sometimes Hindu and Chinese.
They are also taught a great deal
about the way the people who
speak these languages live, or per-
haps il would be more accurate to
say they learn what the Communist
Party wants them to believe con-
corning other peoples. Thus what
they learn about the United States
is so far from the truth it would
be funny if it were not so horrible.
When Americans and Russians
compete with each other in Asia
or Africa in technical assistance,
or education, or any other inter-
national activities, the American
team generally cannot speak the
language of the other people, and
is forced to do business in English
The Russians usually can speak
the language of the country very
well, and often are well-informed
about the beliefs and customs of
the people. Which team do you
think has the advantage?
If Americans are going to hold
their present position in the world,
and if they are going to be able to
provide the leadership which is so
much needed in the free world they
are going to have to learn to COM
municate with the peoples of the
new nations of Asia and Africa
and South Africa, and also with the
people who live in Western Eur
ope. To do this, Americans are
going to be obliged to study the
languages, and the history, and the
problems, and the desires of all of
these people.
C. Recently there have been
many musicians and dancers from
the USSR in this country, as part
of the cultural exchange program
between our country and the Soviet
Union. There are many fine per-
forming artists in the USSR, and
they are produced by an elaborate
system designed to identify and to
train talent.
Sometimes Americans find it
hard to understand why commu-
nists should be so interested in
music, dancing and the theatre,
The fact is here is another from
tier where the forces of commun-
ism are working hard to achieve
world leadership.
Since communism denies the ex-
istance of God, and sneers at reli-
gion, there is great emptiness in
! the lives of many people who live
under the communism. To fill this
emptiness, to compensate in part
for the drab lives people live un-
der communism rule, great atten-
ton is paid to culture. So you can
go to any theatre in the USSR and
find it crowded with rather shabby
people who have come here to es-