Dec. 5, 1962 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy asserted in New York today that American students planning to travel abroad without adequate knowledge of the U.S. would be doing this country a favor if they “stayed in bed at home.” “It’s simply not enough for us to send abroad thousands of nice, good-looking, eager young people,” Mr. Kennedy told a meeting of the Council on Student Travel at the Biltmore Hotel. “Fourth of July speeches are not enough, either. It is just not true that the U.S. is a perfectly grand place where everyone loves everyone else. What these young people need is a real understanding of their own country as well as the rest of the world so they can discuss questions intelligently. It doesn’t make sense to go abroad and tell people there that we are getting along with one another at home much better now. Look at Mississippi. Generalities are no good. If you don’t have the answers, I think you’re dead.” The council, a nonprofit grouping of 107 colleges and organizations, is observing its 15th anniversary with a three-day workshop on overseas programs.
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