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Sixty years ago...

6/5/2020

16 Comments

 
Recently, I came across a speech of Senator John F. Kennedy which struck me for its relevance today. I share it with you because I think his message is one we all need to hear. This speech was delivered when JFK accepted the nomination for the presidency on July 15, 1960. Sixty years have passed and I wonder, has anything really changed? 


"I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high, to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.

Today our concern must be with that future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. 

Abroad, the balance of power is shifting. There are new and more terrible weapons… The world has been close to war before, but now man, who has survived all previous threats to his existence, has taken into his mortal hands the power to exterminate the entire species some seven times over.

For I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch three thousand miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort and sometimes their lives to build a new world here in the West. They were not the captives of their own doubts, the prisoners of their own price tags. Their motto was not "every man for himself," but "all for the common cause." They were determined to make that new world strong and free, to overcome its hazards and its hardships, to conquer the enemies that threatened from without and within.

Today some would say that those struggles are all over, that all the horizons have been explored, that all the battles have been won, that there is no longer an American frontier. 
But I trust that no one in this vast assemblage will agree with those sentiments. For the problems are not all solved, and the battles are not all won, and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier, a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats."

Judy Collins has a wonderful way of lifting spirits, and so I share this song today. 
16 Comments
john howell link
6/6/2020 09:42:01

Great words, Gwen. Sure wish we had a leader around here now.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 11:25:54

Thank you, John... Heartbreaking times for all.

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D.L. Finn
6/6/2020 11:18:26

The words are so relevant now. I wish we had a leader to speak them to us. Thank you for reminding us of what is possible.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 11:26:59

I'm with you, Denise. JFK had an amazing way to speak to people's hearts - and dreams. Sad times...

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Rox Burkey link
6/6/2020 11:56:20

This is something that everyone needs work toward not simply listen to. Thank you Gwen.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 13:44:22

Thank you, Rox. I couldn't agree more. ♥

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Jill Weatherholt link
6/6/2020 13:29:42

Thank you for sharing this, Gwen. xo

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 13:45:10

Thank you for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

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Vashti Q link
6/6/2020 13:56:36

This is a beautiful speech. Thanks for sharing it, Gwen.
The reason nothing has changed in 60 years is because the moment people begin to protest against injustice others step in talking about let there be peace. How could there be peace when there are people tortured and killed for the color of their skin? People are being treated inhumanely. They have the right to feel outraged. They have the right to protest. There are groups that are infiltrating the peaceful protests and creating chaos. That's because they don't want this problem resolved. This isn't the time to be silent or to talk about peace. This is the time for every decent, genuinely good person to speak up against the injustices occuring in our country and around the world. This isn't a Black vs, White problem this is a Human Race vs. Racism problem, and every good person needs to stand and be heard. Otherwise, another 60 years are going to go by unchanged, while some people are sitting at home safe and at peace, another group of people are going to continue to suffer in the hands of racists. Nothing is going to change. The same injustices will continue. It isn't enough to say, 'Oh, that was a terrible thing that happened.' We have to get together and do something about it. I'm not saying we all have to get to the street carrying signs, but we can let our voices be heard.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 14:12:30

Well said, Vashti. There's no place in our country (or any country) for racism. We are all part of one family, and anything that detracts from our sense of belonging, must be corrected. As for the "infiltrators", I strongly agree with you - they don't want the problem solved. They are part of the problem.

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Jan Sikes
6/7/2020 17:50:18

Thank you for standing up, Vashti! You are SO right! Of course, we want peace, but sweeping a human condition that has existed for eons under the rug one more time doesn't bring peace, it just brings more denial. I stand with you, my friend!

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Suzanne Burke link
6/6/2020 15:47:15

My heart aches for all of us as citizens in a world gone mad. Racism can not and must not be tolerated, in any form, anywhere. Bob Dylan sang of Times that Were Changing. How tragic it is that those times never changed. Our souls are growing weary, and our hearts are heavy, but hope still lingers on. Our elected leaders need to step up ... and MAKE those changes happen. Thanks for this thoughtful post, Gwen.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2020 18:08:30

Thank you, dear Soooz. They definitely need to step up. We live in sorrowful times. ♥♥♥

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Karen Ingalls link
6/7/2020 03:33:13

I remember when President Kennedy gave that speech. It was as needed then as today. In fact, every day for more years than I want to count! Thanks for sharing it, Gwen.

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Gwen Plano
6/7/2020 11:36:29

Thank you, dear Karen. All the best to you. ♥

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Jan Sikes
6/7/2020 17:48:24

Thank you for sharing JFK's speech, Gwen. It couldn't be more timely! My sister and I were talking just the other day about how our nation desperately needs another JFK and NOW!! I especially loved this sentence from the speech..."f we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future." That says it all. Thank you for sharing, dear Gwen!

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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