President Eisenhower's Farewell Address

President Eisenhower's Farewell Address is a well known speech given at the end of his presidency. In it, Eisenhower expresses his worry for the future of The United States of America. Eisenhower starts off his farewell speech speaking of four major wars in the past century. Being bias, he states " despite these holocausts, America today is the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation in the world" ( P.1). Obviously since he was the president of the nation, he feels a sense of nationalism and sees his country as superior to others, like any other leader would. Eisenhower also expresses fear that America will be on a slippery slope if the country continues in the path of technology, he explains " for every old blackboard there
are now hundreds of new electronic computers" (p.3). He later continues to explain that while the people of America should advance in the technological age, they should also be cautious because " the public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifically captive elite" (p.3) meaning that as everything else is being replaced by the new technology, the public policy might be replaced as well. Eisenhower is fearful that one day because of all the new technological advances, some of the most important aspects of the country will be lost and replaced. Eisenhower, continuing the emphasis on this slippery slope, explains that the nation should stay away from foreign temptations. He says how the United States must " learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose" he continues to state that " war could utterly destroy this civilization.."(p.4). For every argument and counter argument that is brought up, Eisenhower backs it up with legitimate reasons for his thoughts. For example, Eisenhower argues that " a vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment.." He further explains himself by saying that our army must have strength, and be ready in an instant to prevent any potential aggressor from attacking (p.2). Eisenhower's arguments indeed were successful, being that more than fifty years has passed since his famous speech, and The United States of America hasn't fallen to any foreign aggressors, though advancements of technology were made, the country hasn't completely been taken over by it and America is still one of the top countries in the world.