For those for whom John Kennedy lives in memory as martyr, myth, hero and legend, more than a man's life was destroyed in the streets of Dallas on November 22, 1963.
When the man died, a measure of hope was ripped away and we were exposed to the ineffable horror of senseless murder and an accompanying dread that has never subsided.
Throughout the ensuing turbulent, tragic decades that followed, we assured ourselves that if only this single man's life had been spared, ours would have been a safer, saner and better world.
But cruel fate and an evil mind(s?) intervened to take the man and we have no certain way of knowing what future his aborted presidency might have bestowed upon us.
What we do know is that, in his very brief time, far more than any legislative accomplishments, the vision expressed through his words best embodied the hopes of the people he was chosen to lead.
It is those words that continue to resonate within our hearts and fuel our dreams. Below is a selection of John F. Kennedy's remarks on war, peace, freedom, civil rights, space exploration and the arts, appealing always, to the finest aspirations of humanity throughout the world.
CITY ON A HILL SPEECH JANUARY 9, 1961
JFK INAUGURAL ADDRESS - JANUARY 20, 1961
"ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU,
ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY"
JFK ON THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
October 22, 1962
JFK ON HUMAN RIGHTS June, 1963
“We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution. The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?”
JFK IN BERLIN - June, 1963
"There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."
Complete text of Berlin Speech
JFK'S "PEACE SPEECH"
Commencement Speech at American University, June 11, 1963
"In the final analysis,
our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all
breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all
mortal.”
JFK ON SPACE EXPLORATION
Race to the moon - May 25, 1961
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon–if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation.”
JFK ON THE ARTS AND IN HONOR OF ROBERT FROST
AMHERST COLLEGE OCTOBER 26, 1963
"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."
Complete text of speech at Amherst
This is a link to the JFK Library and Archives
AMHERST COLLEGE OCTOBER 26, 1963
"The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state."
Complete text of speech at Amherst
This is a link to the JFK Library and Archives
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