Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust. To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution, Hamilton from serving as secretary of the treasury, Clay from being elected speaker of the House and Christopher Columbus from discovering America. There is, in addition to a courage with which men die, a courage by which men must live. There is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in a war, and some men are wounded, and some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some are stationed in San Francisco. It's very hard in military or personal life to assure complete equality. Life is unfair. There are risks and costs to a program of action but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inactions. The United States has to move very fast to even stand still. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace. When asked what I am most proud of, I stick out my chest, hold my head high and state proudly, 'I served in the United States Navy!' | 
