I was a dork and read through my JFK photography book, where quotes and speeches complement the images. For the spread of pictures from his funeral, the text is a simple transcript of the conclusion of a speech he was to have given at a Trade Mart in Dallas that day. It's now referred to as the undelivered speech, and the text contains appropriate last words from a president. As we transition, four decades later, into a new administration I think this should still be our objective. Of course America isn't perfect. But since these words were (well, weren't) spoken, we've gone through the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, Feminism, the Reagan Revolution, the fall of communism, the Gulf War, the invention (discovery?) of the internet, cell phones, HDTV, etc. The point is that there is always room to grow. There are always mistakes to learn from and faults to take responsibility for. It's as true for every individual as it is for an entire country.
Sometimes we get a little too caught up being our own person to realize that we are citizens of a whole. Citizens of a country and of the world. It's idealist to think that America can be the things that John Kennedy was to have defined on the day he departed. Isn't it great though, when ideals become a reality? The two are not always disjoint. Realism and idealism may be. But when landing on the moon became a reality, someone years before that thought it was only a cool idea. I guarantee you that for every event, there is at least one person who believed in it when it was only an idea. But they believed, and acted on that. And proved the realists wrong. I am a citizen of a world that generally hates the United States. I get that. But I also can't help but wonder how I could prove them wrong. We aren't perfect. But like John Adams said, I do believe we are the least imperfect. And how far have we come since his presidency?
___The Undelivered Speech___
America today is stronger than ever before.
Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions--
our dangers have not diminished--
our vigilance cannot be relaxed.
But now we have the military, the scientific,
and the economic strength to do whatever must be done
for the preservation of freedom.
That strength shall never be used in pursuit of aggressive
ambition-- it will always be used in pursuit of peace.
It will never be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes.
We in this country, in this generation, are--
by destiny rather than choice--
the watchmen on the walls of world freedom.
We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility--
that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility--
that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restrain--
and that we may achieve in our time and for all time
the ancient vision of "peace on earth, good will toward men."
That must always be our goal--
and the righteousness of our case must always underlie our strength.
For as was written long ago:
"Except for the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
____________________________________________
This was Kennedy's subtle way of quoting the Bible. See:
"Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat--
for he grants sleep to those he loves."
-Psalm 127:1-2
God, you are hilarious. After this week of 3 a.m. "bedtimes" and so much labor, you let me geek out just long enough for me to be reminded that it is all in vain if I stress out for the sake of a grade. Thank you for that this pre-Thanksgiving Saturday night. Now I will go write some more of my paper. Yep, still that one.
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