US President Nixon replies to Family member's letter

Below is a letter sent by Justin Fleischman of the Berkeley Family to President Nixon, and Nixon’s reply, Nixon’s response was personally signed which probably means that he read it personally before responding 8/5/72

President Richard M. Nixon

The White House

Washington, D.C.

Dear President Nixon,

I don’t know if you will be able to personally read this letter. I hope so, but if not, I look forward to whatever reply your staff will be able to send.

I am currently listening to Senator [George] McGovern’s speech announcing his choice of Sargent Shriver as his vice-Presidential running mate. He is listing all of the areas in which he claims you have failed the American people. He seems to be overlooking many things. Many of his criticisms concern situations which can’t be corrected by a few directives by the President because they are problems created by our own human shortcomings. More important than that, the complex international situation is the product of many years of history, and he shouldn’t expect you to provide a simple solution in a short period of time.

I am sure that you are not overlooking the serious domestic problems of this country. It is obvious from the nature of your duties that you can devote only a certain amount of time to each of the many problems which face you. Naturally, your greatest concern should be for the most serious problem. That is why you arranged your recent trips to China and Russia. That is why you have ordered intensified military action in North Vietnam. You are intently aware of the dangerous consequences of Communist takeovers in now-threatened free nations of the world, i.e. Korea, Germany, Vietnam and many others.

Mr. McGovern is very willing to overlook the declared threats of Communism. He would rather redirect American attention and money selfishly on ourselves. Admittedly, America is not the Kingdom of Heaven, but how much more democratically and materially blessed is America than any other country of the world? If America were to isolate herself according to the pattern suggested by Senator McGovern, she would be shirking her responsibility to the whole world; she would be turning her back on God, who has founded and raised America in the Christian spirit; the spirit of helping one’s brother.

The combination of America’s Religious and political freedoms and material abundance can have but one purpose: these freedoms can provide the motivation and responsibility, and the abundance can provide the means to bring God’s ideal to any nation in the world.

It is only through America’s cooperation with God that we can hope to insure America’s prosperity in the long run. Let us continue to spread democracy while we have the chance. It is entirely possible that our children will have to fight in World War III against Communism; we would surely regret it if we didn’t use our wisdom now to avoid this tragedy. And World War III would surely be much worse than any of the problems which Senator McGovern accused you for not solving so far.

President Nixon, I pray that you will continue to ask for God’s help in planning your policies. If America loses the respect of the many nations who depend on her, then God’s power will be considerably weakened.

As my portion of responsibility, I pledge to you my vote in November, and before then, I will gather support from others by sharing the opinions I stated above.

I sign in the name of our Heavenly Father,

Justin Fleischman 1727 Euclid Avenue Berkeley, California 94709