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JOHN F. KENNEDY'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS (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.
 Hear
JFK
For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the
same solemn oath our forebears 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 co-operative
ventures. Divided, there is little we can do --for we dare not
meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
Hear JFK
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 the 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.
Hear JFK
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.
Hear JFK
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 co-operation 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.
Hear JFK
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 on earth God's work must
truly be our own.
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