<--PREV Doc #98  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #100 Document #99; March 20, 1953 To Stanley Hoflund High Series: EM, AWF, Name Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part I: Charting a New Course; January 1953 to April 1953 Chapter 2: "A number of misunderstandings": Party and International Struggles   Dear Stanley: I am most grateful for your letter of March sixteenth regarding the value of an appeal to the universal spirit of religion as part of our psychological offensive.1 It is quite true that the appeal to basic spiritual longings is probably the most fundamental approach we could use. And it is equally true that despite my personal deep conviction on this subject, of which I know you are aware, this aspect has from time to time appeared "dragged in by the scruff of the neck." As I read your letter, I had the impression that you were suggesting this approach practically to the exclusion of all other approaches. I feel that if the divided world is to be spiritually unified, it is necessary that we consider also the other facets of the individual's needs--his economic situation, his educational requirements, his desires for shelter, food, human dignity, and freedom. I would like to think about this one a little more, and possibly talk to Milton2 and to some of those who are concerned with the other aspects of the program.3 Meantime, my warm regard, Sincerely P.S. Since I am seeing you this afternoon, we can discuss the matter then. 1 High, who met with the President late this same day, had reported the conclusions that he and "several experts of long and high standing in the field of public psychology" recently had agreed upon. Referring to "freedom's present crisis," High argued that Americans had not adequately enlisted "religious concepts and the human values derived therefrom" in the conflict with atheistic totalitarianism. He suggested that the "religious emphasis, instead of being occasionally dragged in by the scruff of the neck," become the basis for the entire program (AWF/N). 2 High's unnamed experts had agreed with Milton Eisenhower's remark, contained in his June 15, 1952, commencement address at the University of Maine, that the "fundamental division among peoples of the modern world is not economic or political; it is in the realm of the spirit" (New York Times, June 16, 1952). 3 See no. 110. Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To Stanley Hoflund High, 20 March 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 99. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/99.cfm <--PREV Doc #98  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #100

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