No American President has ever led a country like Kennedy did, or inspired them by word and deed, as he did in the early 1960's. He died 50 years ago today. If you doubt this have a look at some of the great things that he said:
At his inauguration:
“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
On finding solutions to problems:
“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
On those who resist change:
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
On handling tough times and a crisis:
“When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”
Yesterday, another iconic President in Barack Obama honoured JFK as America mourned the loss of this great war hero, statesman and catalyst for so much change in the world.
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/barack-obama-marks-anniversary-jfk-assassination-5721040
Kennedy would be a very old man now in his 90's. But America and the world lost a lot when it lost him, and his equally able brother Bobby, a few years later.
Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JFK. Show all posts
Friday, 22 November 2013
Saturday, 24 August 2013
50 years on how do we remember John F Kennedy?
JFK was killed in Dallas nearly 50 years ago. No leader in the intervening years has come close to his magnetism or captured the public's imagination, save possibly for Obama in the 2008 election campaign.
For me he is the better speaker albeit his brother Bobby was the real deal.
In June 1963 JFK stood on a platform in West Berlin and uttered one of the most iconic phrases of 20th-century politics: “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
President John F. Kennedy stands on a platform erected on the steps of West Berlin's city hall, Rathaus Schoeneberg. A crowd watches the President (back to camera) as he delivers his 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech on June 26, 1963, at Rudolph Wilde Platz, West Berlin, in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Kennedy spoke truth to the power of Soviet totalitarianism in the shadow of the Berlin Wall and proudly declared, “I am a Berliner.”
In Berlin he told the truth about those who build walls to stabilize a rotten system, albeit would be many more years before the wall itself came down. That speech was one of best-remembered moments of Kennedy’s tragically short presidency. He challenged Americans not only to reconsider their attitude toward the Cold War but also demanded that white America see civil rights as a moral issue. The speech on civil rights and equality is seminal:
“We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the 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.”
For me he is the better speaker albeit his brother Bobby was the real deal.
In June 1963 JFK stood on a platform in West Berlin and uttered one of the most iconic phrases of 20th-century politics: “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
President John F. Kennedy stands on a platform erected on the steps of West Berlin's city hall, Rathaus Schoeneberg. A crowd watches the President (back to camera) as he delivers his 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech on June 26, 1963, at Rudolph Wilde Platz, West Berlin, in the Federal Republic of Germany. In Berlin he told the truth about those who build walls to stabilize a rotten system, albeit would be many more years before the wall itself came down. That speech was one of best-remembered moments of Kennedy’s tragically short presidency. He challenged Americans not only to reconsider their attitude toward the Cold War but also demanded that white America see civil rights as a moral issue. The speech on civil rights and equality is seminal:
“We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the 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.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)