Friday, November 22, 2013
Remembering a Great Man
“My fellow Americans, ask not
what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” -John
F. Kennedy
On this day 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy was tragically
assassinated during a parade through Dallas, Texas. Even though his time in office was short, the
Massachusetts-born president advanced civil rights in America, committed the
country to the Apollo program, and created the humanitarian organization, the
Peace Corp. President Kennedy endeared
himself to the world due to his dedication of serving others. Upon his death, then-United Nations
Ambassador Adlai Stevenson said “All of us will bear the grief of his death
until the day of ours.”
Although on this day in 1963 will forever live in infamy, President John
F. Kennedy’s legacy will forever live on.
Posted below is President Kennedy’s famous “City Upon a Hill” Speech,
which was delivered to the Massachusetts General Court as his last formal
address before his inauguration as president.
"City Upon a Hill" Speech (January 9, 1961)
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy
"I have welcomed this opportunity to address this historic body, and,
through you, the people of Massachusetts to whom I am so deeply indebted for a
lifetime of friendship and trust.
For fourteen years I have placed
my confidence in the citizens of Massachusetts—and they have generously
responded by placing their confidence in me.
Now, on the Friday after next, I
am to assume new and broader responsibilities. But I am not here to bid farewell
to Massachusetts.
For forty-three years—whether I
was in London, Washington, the South Pacific, or elsewhere—this has been my
home; and, God willing, wherever I serve this shall remain my home.
It was here my grandparents were
born—it is here I hope my grandchildren will be born.
I speak neither from false
provincial pride nor artful political flattery. For no man about to enter high
office in this country can ever be unmindful of the contribution this state has
made to our national greatness.
Its leaders have shaped our
destiny long before the great republic was born. Its principles have guided our
footsteps in times of crisis as well as in times of calm. Its democratic
institutions—including this historic body—have served as beacon lights for
other nations as well as our sister states.
For what Pericles said to the
Athenians has long been true of this commonwealth: "We do not imitate—for
we are a model to others."
And so it is that I carry with
me from this state to that high and lonely office to which I now succeed more
than fond memories of firm friendships. The enduring qualities of
Massachusetts—the common threads woven by the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the
fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant—will not be and could
not be forgotten in this nation's executive mansion.
They are an indelible part of my
life, my convictions, my view of the past, and my hopes for the future.
Allow me to illustrate: During
the last sixty days, I have been at the task of constructing an administration.
It has been a long and deliberate process. Some have counseled greater speed.
Others have counseled more expedient tests.
But I have been guided by the
standard John Winthrop set before his shipmates on the flagship Arbella three
hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a
new government on a perilous frontier.
"We must always
consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill—the eyes
of all people are upon us."
Today the eyes of all people are
truly upon us—and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national,
state and local, must be as a city upon a hill—constructed and inhabited by men
aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.
For we are setting out upon a
voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the Arabella in 1630.
We are committing ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of
governing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, beset as it was then by terror without
and disorder within.
History will not judge our
endeavors—and a government cannot be selected—merely on the basis of color or
creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature,
while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these.
For of those to whom much is
given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history
sits in judgment on each one 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 may hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:
First, were we truly men of
courage—with the courage to stand up to one's enemies—and the courage to stand
up, when necessary, to one's associates—the courage to resist public pressure,
as well as private greed?
Secondly, were we truly men of
judgment—with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past—of our own
mistakes as well as the mistakes of others—with enough wisdom to know that we
did not know, and enough candor to admit it?
Third, were we truly men of
integrity—men who never ran out on either the principles in which they believed
or the people who believed in them—men who believed in us—men whom neither
financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of
our sacred trust?
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.
Courage—judgment—integrity—dedicationthese are
the historic qualities of the Bay Colony and the Bay State—the qualities which
this state has consistently sent to this chamber on Beacon Hill here in Boston
and to Capitol Hill back in Washington.
And these are the qualities
which, with God's help, this son of Massachusetts hopes will characterize our
government's conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead.
Humbly I ask His help in that
undertaking—but aware that on earth His will is worked by men. I ask for your
help and your prayers, as I embark on this new and solemn journey."
Labels:
President Kennedy