The great eventful Present hides the Past; but through the din
Of its loud life hints and echoes from the life behind steal in.
~John Greenleaf Whittier
Fifty years ago today, John Fitzgerald Kennedy gave his inaugural address to the people of the United States. My dad watched it on black and white television. He was in high school. I wonder if John knew that the words he spoke would be so well remembered half a century later and rank amongst some of the most memorable speeches in Western history. I watched it today on the television of the 21st century, Youtube… in color. Here are some quotes that gave me reason to pause and ponder the ensuing fifty years of world history in relation to these statements…
“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”
“Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.”
“We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war. So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.”
“Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.”
Finishing up, here’s is the sentence for which this speech is best remembered:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
You can watch JFK’s speech here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLmiOEk59n8&feature=player_embedded#at=683
or read it here:
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html
Posted on January 20th, 2011 by Josh Champagne
Filed under: Research & Learning | No Comments »
