The Idealist Without Illusions

So much has been said and so much has been written on the incalculable loss of the future that America suffered on this day, 42 years ago, that it is beyond this humble resident of the Commonwealth to add anything new or pertinent. Let me rather say this, before giving way to JFK's own words, each day, I run 1.5 miles down Mass Ave to JFK Park and pause briefly to read the late President's own words, which have been engraved on several posts throughout the green space. It may be a silly ritual, but in a world where our leaders seem bent on dividing the nation instead of uniting it, it's a necessary ritual. Necessary to remember that leaders can inspire and necessary to remember that progress is possible if our leaders provide a clear moral vision for our nation. With that, I give way to some of my favorite JFK quotes

"Our aim should not be 'states dissevered, discordant, or belligerent; but one country, one constitution, one destiny'" - paraphrasing Daniel Webster on the Senate floor

"The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine where we use power, or power uses us" - October 1963, Amherst College

"The most single powerful force in the world today is man's eternal desire to be free and independent." - July 1957

"To sum it all up: we seek peace, but we shall not surrender"

"Let us pray that there will be no veterans of any further war - not because all shall have perished but because all shall have learned to live together in peace" November 11, 1961

"While maintaining our readiness for war, let us exhaust every avenue for peace" - October 1963, Amherst College

"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." - Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961