President John Fitzgerald Kennedy – Inaugural Address

President John Fitzgerald Kennedy

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,

17-Jun-2005