Since this century's beginning, a time of tempest has seemed to
come upon the continents of the earth. Masses of Asia have
awakened to strike off shackles of the past. Great nations of
Europe have fought their bloodiest wars. Thrones have toppled and
their vast empires have disappeared. New nations have been born.
For our own country, it has been a time of recurring trial. We
have grown in power and in responsibility. We have passed through
the anxieties of depression and of war to a summit unmatched in
man's history. Seeking to secure peace in the world, we have had
to fight through the forests of the Argonne, to the shores of Iwo
Jima, and to the cold mountains of Korea.
In the swift rush of great events, we find ourselves groping to
know the full sense and meaning of these times in which we live.
In our quest of understanding, we beseech God's guidance. We
summon all our knowledge of the past and we scan all signs of the
future. We bring all our wit and all our will to meet the
question:
How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward
light? Are we nearing the light--a day of freedom and of peace for
all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon
us?
Great as are the preoccupations absorbing us at home, concerned as
we are with matters that deeply affect our livelihood today and
our vision of the future, each of these domestic problems is
dwarfed by, and often even created by, this question that involves
all humankind.
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