President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, January 20th 1961.
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolising 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 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 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 peoples in the huts and villages across 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 neighbours 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 belabouring 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.
Duration : 0:9:58
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
like obama smokin …
like obama smokin crack and having gay sex
honorable
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
just in the kennedy …
just in the kennedy family….dont talk shit….
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
anybody with the …
anybody with the last name kennedy is F.U.C.K.E.D.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
I am an Irish …
I am an Irish Catholic “baby boomer”. The Kennedy’s have been a constant in my life and the life of so many Americans. Their contributions were too numerous to mention. Joe,jr., Jack, Bobby, and now Ted spent their lives in service to their coutry. I was not very aligned with their politics, but I most certainly was with their vigor, passion, compassion, and love of serving the needs of people who needed
help. RIP Ted. You’re now with your brothers.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Who doesn’t, you …
Who doesn’t, you think just because its not reported it doesn’t happen?
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
A unique family, …
A unique family, the Kennedys.
RIP Mr. President, Attorney General, Senator.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Look up JFK’s 9/14/ …
Look up JFK’s 9/14/60 speech about what it means to be a liberal.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
that is nothing…. …
that is nothing…..i meant honourable to his country…..look at who is running your country today man…. look at what they do to their own…. never mind anyone else….u.s.a… the land of the free…. ??only for as long as it remains the home of the brave….i think jfk wanted americans to be brave.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
honourable u mean …
honourable u mean like having mistresses and countless flops?
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
This is a “passage” …
This is a “passage” I found on-line - true or not - I’m not sure. It’s not necessarily my opinion - but worth considering…
“Obama is a puppet President along with the rest of them over the last 30 years or so. They have no real power.
The US is the land of the “fee” not the land of the free. The States seems to be run by a puppet government lead by corporations & the military”
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
you are watching …
you are watching the very last real president of the u.s.a. a throwback to the honourable and brave men who created the constitution. he speaks the truth , he had courage, he was killed for it. he was a real american patriot to its principles and an example of how the dark forces he alludes to in other speeches operate.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
so ur racist?
so ur racist?
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
so your a racist?
so your a racist?
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
From unscripted CIA …
From unscripted CIA documents, America under the Kennedy administration orchestrated a military coup to overthrow and murder President Diem of South Vietnam government, who strongly opposed U.S. troops’ presence in Vietnam because it would be used as a propaganda by communists to lure more Vietnamese to fight against South Vietnam and America; Ho chi Minh, communist leader of North Vietnam, also celebrated this coup and said, “We will win this war; I cannot believe Americans are so stupid.”
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
B.S. JFK initiated …
B.S. JFK initiated the civil rights act, integrated the south, stared down the Russians, and sent an American to the moon posthumously. All while banging, at least, the two hottest broads in the country. When you do the same let me know.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
yeah, he was only …
yeah, he was only great because he was assassinated, had he lived on you would not be praising him. Same this with Lincoln.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
But our rights do …
But our rights do come from man, they can be taken away by man? Don’t you see? We can be thrown into a prison unjustly, we can treated like shepharded sheep without knowing anything, we can be lied to, we can be controlled or coercied, all by man. I have shown that man can take our laws, since I proved your then, I think that means your if is true also. You have to understand that your rights do not come from something that can be regarded as a figurative concept. It is not a god that enslaves.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Who ever said that …
Who ever said that we shouldn’t fight to protect our rights or ideals? Just because one declares that the source of our rights comes from the hand of God, that doesn’t mean that we won’t have to protect them.
If our rights come from Man, they can be taken by man. But if our rights come from God (even a figurative concept) they cannot be taken away by man.
But we must preserve our rights, for I believe that a gift as valuable as that is not given free and that it is our duty to do so.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
I worry about the …
I worry about the fate of a country that believes that the “rights of man,” come from god and are not just the things we’re willing to fight for, because the truth is, we have to fight for them.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Yea, why should …
Yea, why should people rule people?
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
JFK was truly a …
JFK was truly a great man, and the last great president we ever had.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
the fist masonic …
the fist masonic groups were knights templar and knights hospitallers both served the pope in the 12th and 13th century . jfk warned us of the jesuits the monolithic conspiracy who created the illuminati and has modified masonry. kennedyjfk=whistleblower. a true american, free and independent
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
there are no …
there are no freemasonic rights of man. This nation is based on the heresy of americanism. Natural laws are perfectly fulfilled by divine laws. Freemasonry is a crock of jewish pagan naturalism.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
JFK yabbers about …
JFK yabbers about dialogue and world government.
August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am
“The belief that …
“The belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God”