September 11
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy – Inaugural
Address
Delivered January 20, 1961
We observe today not a victory
of party but a celebration of freedom–symbolizing
an end as well as a beginning–signifying renewal
as well as change. For I have sworn before you
and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears
prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters
ago.
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.
We dare not forget
today that we are the heirs of that first revolution.
Let the word go forth from this time and place,
to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been
passed to a new generation of Americans–born
in this century, tempered by war, disciplined
by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient
heritage–and unwilling to witness or permit the
slow undoing of those human rights to which this
nation has always been committed, and to which
we are committed today at home and around the
world.
Let every nation
know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we
shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any
hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to
assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge–and
more.
To those old allies
whose cultural and spiritual origins we share,
we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United
there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative
ventures. Divided there is little we can do–for
we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds
and split asunder.
To those new states
whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge
our word that one form of colonial control shall
not have passed away merely to be replaced by
a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect
to find them supporting our view. But we shall
always hope to find them strongly supporting their
own freedom–and to remember that, in the past,
those who foolishly sought power by riding the
back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those people
in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling
to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our
best efforts to help them help themselves, for
whatever period is required–not because the communists
may be doing it, not because we seek their votes,
but because it is right. If a free society cannot
help the many who are poor, it cannot save the
few who are rich.
To our sister republics
south of our border, we offer a special pledge–to
convert our good words into good deeds–in a new
alliance for progress–to assist free men and
free governments in casting off the chains of
poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope
cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let
all our neighbors know that we shall join with
them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere
in the Americas. And let every other power know
that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master
of its own house.
To that world assembly
of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last
best hope in an age where the instruments of war
have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we
renew our pledge of support–to prevent it from
becoming merely a forum for invective–to strengthen
its shield of the new and the weak–and to enlarge
the area in which its writ may run.
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.
Let both sides,
for the first time, formulate serious and precise
proposals for the inspection and control of arms–and
bring the absolute power to destroy other nations
under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek
to invoke the wonders of science instead of its
terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer
the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean
depths and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite
to heed in all corners of the earth the command
of Isaiah–to “undo the heavy burdens . .
. (and) let the oppressed go free.”
And if a beachhead
of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion,
let both sides join in creating a new endeavor,
not a new balance of power, but a new world of
law, where the strong are just and the weak secure
and the peace preserved.
All this will not
be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor
will it be finished in the first one thousand
days, nor in the life of this Administration,
nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet.
But let us begin.
In your hands, my
fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the
final success or failure of our course. Since
this country was founded, each generation of Americans
has been summoned to give testimony to its national
loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered
the call to service surround the globe.
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.
Can we forge against
these enemies a grand and global alliance, North
and South, East and West, that can assure a more
fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in
that historic effort?
In the long history
of the world, only a few generations have been
granted the role of defending freedom in its hour
of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I
welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would
exchange places with any other people or any other
generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion
which we bring to this endeavor will light our
country and all who serve it–and the glow from
that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow
Americans: ask not what your country can do for
you–ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens
of the world: ask not what America will do for
you, but what together we can do for the freedom
of man.
Finally, whether
you are citizens of America or citizens of the
world, ask of us here the same high standards
of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you.
With a good conscience our only sure reward, with
history the final judge of our deeds, let us go
forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing
and His help, but knowing that here