HISTORY WAS HIS TUTOR. Father Time talked to him about all that he had seen. The stories held his attention and made a deep impression.
High ideals help us focus—and reveal our flaws. They ignite a contest between hubris and humility.
In 1960, he was well aware that we were nowhere near our potential. During the campaign, he often opened with “I am not satisfied…” in pointing out our shortcomings. He wanted no one left behind. But he favored nuance over nonsense.
Eleven days before his inauguration, in an address to a joint session of the Massachusetts Legislature, he recalled the words of John Winthrop, who said, “We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” The light of those words had not dimmed over three centuries later, and the young man used them as a spotlight.
“And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions.” They concerned courage, judgment, and integrity. But the last said it all. “Finally, were we truly men of dedication, with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and compromised by no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?”
In the first State of the Union Address, he said, “Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure. The outcome is by no means certain. The answers are by no means clear.”
He appealed to the best in all of us to realize “our hopes for freedom and the future.” For success was not dependent “simply upon those of us in this chamber…. And in final analysis, they rest most of all upon the pride and perseverance of our fellow citizens of the Great Republic.”
In the second State of the Union Address, “an idealist without illusions” said, “This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.” Otherwise, “a more perfect Union”—the first goal set forth in the Preamble—cannot be achieved. His remarks were a reflection of the fact that we are spiritual beings in material bodies, which is why the Great Seal of the United States of America has two sides.
Like George Washington, he embodied character—the union of thought, word, and deed directed toward a noble end. If that was not apparent then, it should be obvious now.
On November 22, 1963, the vision of President Kennedy was made clear in remarks he had prepared for delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas.
“This country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time of challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the fainthearted are needed…. So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause—united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future—and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.”
(c)2023 Marvin D. Jones. All rights reserved.
