presents certain problems of a sociological character. It presents the problem that if it should become generally known that certain individuals have changed their mode of behavior or have changed their drives in this respect, and have made a good adjustment in such a change, that society will then point an even heavier finger of guilt at those who have not made such a change for the reason that society will then think that this is now entirely a matter of personal choice and that all anyone has to do is go through a few therapeutic sessions and, ipso facto, he will be changed too. Society, armed with this knowledge, will then continue reinforced in its hostility.

In this case I must fall back upon the idea that it is truth that counts and which will out in the end. There are individuals who have changed, and I know of such, and it is not so difficult as to be impossible. If this knowledge means that the hostility of society will be greater, it merely means that the task of explaining to one's self, and to ourselves, and to others why, if therapy has been successful for some, there is still a movement of this type, why we still want public acceptance, and why the larg est majority still do not, or are unable, to make such a change, will be all the more difficult. It would, however, be even more difficult, in the long run, to avoid the question or to treat it in the way that some have treated it up to now by the expedient of treating the concept of change as being impossible, undesirable, or just one big lie.

I believe that if some of the concepts I have outlined can be thought out and I have no blueprint for them--that we will arrive at a continuation of changing public attitudes. They have changed a great deal in the past few years, and they are undergoing continued changes at this time.

This movement of which you are a part has made a great contribution, and I think that contributions will continue to be made in the future, but it will be necessary to have a spirit of cooperation and amity among all those involved if you expect such a spirit to permeate your society in general. Obviously, this is difficult to achieve. Homosexuality is a difficult road. It is one that requires a lot of work, not only for the individual but for the group. I believe that many people who are involved in this particular type of life find themselves unknowingly having certain other difficulties in their lives, and I believe that if they would examine themselves they would find that sometimes it is possible to handle some of their problems without handling all of them. There is a tremendous difficulty in undergoing a thorough personality upheaval and frequently it is not something that anyone wants to do or wants to be able to do, but it is possible. I think that it would contribute a great deal to this movement if individuals would accept the idea that they can possibly better certain of their personality problems without necessarily trying to tackle all of the more difficult and basic ones even though these may exist. In this movement we are really founded upon one idea that is rational above all others, namely, that the worth of an individual and his own human dignity are in the person himself. It is what he thinks of himself, what she thinks of herself, that makes the individual's life a worthwhile life. It is living itself, one's very existence, which is exciting, and what one makes of it is up to the individual. We are, within the confines of our own bodies, free. No one can go within us to tell us what to feel, what to think, or what to be. Above all, we can be, in our own minds, human, dignified, and worthwhile beings.

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