In an article by Robert Schlesinger in US News and World Report on Friday 1 Jan 2013 some of the key points in John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address were highlighted.
Schlesinger mentions that Ted Sorensen, historian, aide and chief speechwriter, advised Kennedy to make it one of the shortest inauguration speeches. So brevity was one of the virtues of this stirring address. The speech was less than 1400 words.
"The inaugural was a special occasion, and there was a special tone in that speech," Sorensen later recalled.
So tone and language structure made that speech one against which all other inauguration speeches are measured.
One line in that address - "ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country" — has echoed across time for generations since 1961. It was a call for service. It has inspired many across the world to search for ways to change society for the better.
For my generation Kennedy represented a new direction in political thinking. He was the youngest elected president,the first Roman Catholic and when he spoke of "the torch [having] been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace…" I believed he was appealing to those who wanted a fresh start in the way world politics and diplomacy were conducted.
Kennedy's statement "we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe" makes us sad today when we reflect on the lengthy and terrible Vietnam War.
Many,like me, however, focused on his vision of a new paradigm for peace. He proposed 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."
One of the most memorable lines in the speech is: "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." It is an ideal that I believe leaders today should seek.
AlphaMax Academy in its DVD 'Great Thoughts, Great Minds, Great moments in Time'-A Portrait of Hope and Peace features excerpts from Kennedy's inaugural address done by Gabrielle Goedhart. You can view it on YouTube-Portrait of Hope and Peace. The script of the DVD urges all to seek clarity about the highest goals we can set to achieve Peace.
At the AlphaMax Academy, a unique and leading international school in Suriname, timeless leadership values are treasured and held loft before each generation of students. In a subtle way, the school is training leaders to take their place in the world of business, politics, the environment, and global affairs, in a rapidly changing world.
Milton Drepaul
At the AlphaMax Academy, a unique and leading international school in Suriname, timeless leadership values are treasured and held loft before each generation of students. In a subtle way, the school is training leaders to take their place in the world of business, politics, the environment, and global affairs, in a rapidly changing world.
Milton Drepaul
