Radio and television mirror (Nov 1939-Apr 1940)

w ■ With idealism, but with realism too, the First Lady of America paints an inspiring word-picture of the future's most important person — the woman you hope to be I T'S hard to say what the role of a woman in the world of tomorrow will be, but we can at least say what we hope her role can be. Today, because we live in a very serious world, a very terrible world to many of us, we have to think very seriously of the position of women. I think I will try to draw for you a portrait of what I hope the woman of tomorrow may be because of the seriousness of her responsibility. I think the woman of tomorrow, in this democracy at least, must be a responsible citizen: one who takes a keen interest in her own environment, in all the people of her community and of her country, who studies conditions as they really are and tries, so far as she is able, to formulate plans which will better whatever she finds not good in her community. I hope that this woman of tomorrow can have a gay side, too. The world is so serious that we must keep a certain gaiety and a sense of humor always, no matter how sad our surroundings may be. But I hope that she is going to feel primarily one great responsibility. For if we do not find a way to preserve peace, then I think we might as well make up our minds that civilization is slowly going to disappear. We've talked a great deal about what we should do to bring peace into the world. We've hoped that individuals would change, that they would will peace. We have hoped that there might come to the world the spirit of Christ. We have hoped that everywhere there would be enough people in every nation who long for peace so that we could solve our difficulties without resorting to force. We know, however, that in a world where there are people who are predominantly bent on using power and force, the rest of the world, no matter what their ideals may be, probably will have to use force too for a time. If that is so, very well. Then we must be very careful, we who want peace. We must watch ourselves and never allow that force which we must have to take complete possession of us. So far our people have had so much that they never felt the compelling desire to go out and take something from somebody else. That is something that we have to remember and watch in a world where force is still supreme. As women, we must go about our whole problem without any bitterness, with the feeling that human beings everywhere are deserving of respect and are to be pitied when life is hard, with the realization that we can only hope to be of use if we can keep a kindly spirit to deal fairly and realistically with situations as they arise. My portrait of the woman of tomorrow would not be complete unless I added that I am setting up for her an extremely difficult role. It will be almost impossible for people who are actually at war to think and plan a just peace. So my woman of tomorrow (in this country, I hope, and in many other countries) will school herself to remember that men perhaps would find it even more difficult than she does to think of conservation, to think of preserving the values in the world and in everyday existence. It does require unselfishness! It does require vision! It does require that we shall think of all people as our brothers. PERHAPS the responsibility is greatest on us because of all the nations today we have suffered least. We are strong. We have a chance still to think and grow and to be at peace. I hope that in this world of tomorrow all the women of this country and of South America and of other countries as well, will be able to join together to make peace their great crusade! I can think of nothing eLe which will save civilization. I realize that if we are going to do this we must be practical. We must realize that people have to live. You cannot drag them down and expect them not to try to get the things which make life worth living. We've done that over and over again. We've taken away from people the things that really made it worthwhile to stay at peace. And then we expected that they would adjust themselves to that. Instead, they would suffer and fight. I think The Woman of Tomorrow if a talk delivered by Mn. Rootevelt over CBS for the Women'* National Radio Committee 16 RADIO AND TELEVISION MIRROR