South Bend, [Beginning of January], 1972
A Friendly Word from Bonn
Americans could not have been more surprised when one morning at the beginning of the New Year they saw Chancellor Willy Brandt on the TV screen paying them an honest compliment. He praised the Americans on how polite and friendly they are. Willy Brandt had spent Christmas vacation in Miami with his family. He, thereby, learned to admire the normal American way of life.
South Bend, January 25, 1972
The Secret Negotiations on Vietnam
Tonight on national TV President Nixon lifted the veil of secrecy over the negotiations, which Dr. Henry Kissinger had conducted with North Vietnam to end the war. In fact, it was an admission that neither the secretly private nor the official negotiations in Paris led to any results. The American offer entails the complete withdrawal of American and Allied troops within six months if the opposite side agrees to an exchange of prisoners and a cease-fire. Until now the American proposals have fallen on deaf ears. But whatever can still be agreed upon, the Nixon Administration will end the War in Vietnam in any case and bring the American troops home before the presidential election in November.
Secret Diplomacy
It is hard to believe that in a time when even the smallest incident in the most remote corner of the world remains exposed to the media, a secret diplomacy to such an extent was possible. Five different ways, Henry Kissinger succeeded in getting in and out of Paris thirteen times without being noticed. [In-between, he flew secretly to Peking to prepare President Nixon’s journey to China.]
[Henry A. Kissinger, born 1923 in Fürth, Bavaria; he came 1938 to the United States and was naturalized, 1943. He earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University, 1954. As a faculty member at Harvard he taught courses on government and international affairs, 1957-69. His book, Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy, was published in 1957. In 1969 he was called to the White House as President Nixon’s National Security Adviser. He served as U.S. Secretary of State, 1973-77. Henry Kissinger led the negotiations to end the War in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.]
South Bend, [End of January], 1972
A Continent Is Being Consolidated
The special achievement of today’s America is to be found in the logistics, how, with the help of the computer, it has become possible to consolidate a continent of 200 million people. Space explorations, just as Social Security, the registration at a university, the income tax, or the advertising of a garden center are part of this process. So, for example, a garden center in Washington state mails rose bushes across the entire country, which have been cultivated to adapt to the various climatic zones. The real potential of America has by far not as yet been exhausted. It is a country that is still fermenting and growing. But a society that is organized and controlled by the computer can be frightening. A Social Security number issued to a person serves as identification for the work place, tax return, health insurance, and the driver’s license. Each person is kept on record by the Social Security number.
The interest in America today is so great because future developments emerge here, which later on spread over other continents. This applies to the economic development, new technologies, as well as the education and behavior of the young generation.