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- John F. Kennedy, our 35th president, had a profound impact on the development of our country beyond his presidency.
- JFK represents how political differences can be overcome and we can actually live united.
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John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He is known to be the president who vowed to take America to space, fought for civil rights, created the Peace Corps, and Alliance for Progress, and negotiated the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He was popular and charismatic. He served as president from 1961–1963. Kennedy never lost a single election in his career. He was fiercely pushed by his family into politics. He ran as a Democrat and won the popular vote by a landslide.
During his time in politics, he advocated for higher wages, sweeping tax cuts, civil rights measures, the separation of church and state, cheaper rent, better working conditions, and more social security. He married Jacqueline Le Bouvier in 1953 in order to enhance his electoral appeal.
He was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Some consider him to be the best president in America’s history. The nation mourned when he was assassinated in a parade. Though his presidential tenure was short, he is remembered to have inspired the country towards progress.
Why Are We Talking About This?
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. It seems like history is moving too fast these days and it takes too much time just to keep up with everything that is happening. If we want to make positive change in our world, however, it behooves us to learn from our past, see what worked, and what forces we are fighting against. One of the best examples of fighting the good fight is JFK.
#1 We Share Together
“Let us not emphasize all on which we differ but all we have in common. Let us consider not what we fear separately but what we share together.”
It may seem like every Republican is alt-right, and it may seem like every liberal is alt-left, but that’s simply not true. Most Americans fall somewhere in the middle, and have more in common than not, with similar goals. Working together is more important now than ever before.
#2 Everyone Should Try
“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”
Whether on a global scale, national scale, community scale, or just in your own family, anyone can make a difference. Whether that difference is good or bad is unspecified in this quote.
#3 Our Planet is Vulnerable
“The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet.”
Something that not a lot of people born after 1970 know is that at one time, America was completely united in the cause of planet conservation and fighting climate change. Protecting nature and natural resources was something that most people wanted, except for big oil corporations.
#4 Condemn Oppression
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.”
We don’t have to be the same. We don’t all have to adhere to the rules of one religion. We do need to be tolerant. We need to live and vote in ways that don’t oppress or persecute people different than us.
#5 Accept our Responsibility
“Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
It’s really easy to just blame boomers for all of our problems. Or oil corporations. Or billionaires. While those entities DO hold a lot of responsibility, we are responsible for reshaping the future and correcting course. The current youngest member of Congress, Commons Maxwell Frost, is 26 years old. The older generations of politicians are being voted out, or dying. We are the ones who fill those spots or have great voting power in deciding who fills those spots.
#6 Peace is a Process
“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.”
I like how manageable this quote makes peace appear. Peace doesn’t have to be dramatic, or sexy. Participating civically is often boring, and unglamorous. Just find something that you can and like to do.
#7 Equal Rights
“Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.”
I think this quote is self-explanatory, but children are the future. Every child deserves stability, education, enough food to eat, and opportunities.
#8 A Free Society
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
Currently, the top 1% of households in America hold 26% of the nation’s wealth, or $37.68 Trillion. The top 20% (excluding the top 1%) holds $69.15 Trillion. Those two brackets together equal $106.83 Trillion. Everyone else in the country (79%) holds only $49.9 Trillion. The wealth inequality is so vast in the United States, that it is unsustainable.
#9 We Cannot Impose Our Will
“We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.”
We tend to be an overly patriotic bunch, but JFK believed that we should mind our own business when it comes to foreign affairs, according to this quote.
#10 We Have the Power
“We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or make it the last.”
Based on current trends, it would seem that JFK’s generation chose the latter, but the quote remains true for every generation. We always have the power to surpass the successes of our predecessors and destroy ourselves through nuclear war or ruining our planet or climate.
#11 Forgive Your Enemies
“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
I appreciated this quote because it can be applied to so many situations. We can forgive our enemies while still maintaining boundaries and not continuing to make ourselves vulnerable to their attacks.
#12 Most Extraordinary Computer
“Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.”
This is especially true today with the advancement of artificial intelligence that seeks to replace human creativity with machine learning. Taking all the art and leaving us with the work and the chores. Tech firms and financial gurus have forgotten the whole reason why we work and create technology: to make life better for everyone, not to steal art from artists and pass it off as your own.
When we remove the human from any process, it becomes an inhuman, unfeeling, and oppressive machine.
#13 A Nation’s Success
“For one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members. Let this be the measure of our nation.”
We should measure our success based on how we treat the least of our brethren, not on the odd success of one billionaire. Considering that 11.5% (or 37.9 million Americans) live below the poverty line, by this measure, our nation gets a D+ in our middle-class opinion. The poverty threshold is an annual income of $29,960 for a family of four.
#14 Peace is a Human Right
“And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights- the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation- the right to breathe air as nature provided it- the right of future generations to a healthy existence?”
It sure is easy to live a healthy life when corporations aren’t polluting the planet, evil rulers aren’t bombing vulnerable populations, and people aren’t facing hunger insecurity and other tragedies. Imagine the Renaissance that could be possible if everyone had their basic needs met, and had extra energy and brain space to create.
#15 Wonders of Science
“Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.”
If this didn’t actually happen, it would sound like science fiction in today’s age. With science denial, misinformation, and fake news everywhere you look, the chances of people coming together in scientific consensus to achieve great things seem like a thing of the past. If only we could put aside our differences and listen to scientists, we might live in a better world.
#16 An End to War
“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.”
Will humankind ever evolve past the need to hit each other with sticks and shoot each other with guns? It is so sad that this is still a global issue. It’s almost unbelievable that it is 2024 and we are still fighting for resources when there is more than enough to go around.
#17 Violent Revolutions
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
Protesting, complaining, political rhetoric, and voting are all a necessary and essential part of any healthy democracy. If any party begins to outlaw protesting, voting, or dissent in any kind of way, they open the door to violent revolution, whether they want it or not. There will always be those who disagree, and forcing them to stay quiet only makes the problem worse.
#18 The Goal of Education
“The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.”
Could this be the reason that some politicians want to eradicate our public school system? It is true that ignorant people are easier to manipulate and control. This is why governments and wise societies in the past understood that public education was not only a service benefitting people in general, it was a public necessity for a functioning society. Everyone benefits when everyone has access to education.
#19 Progress as a Nation
“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”
How can we build a greater country than what we have today if we rely on people who are no more educated than the people who built it? Education must improve, it must evolve, it must break new ground and teach more people more effectively if we want to continue to progress. Outlawing certain topics, or banning books or areas of study is a sure-fire way to cripple our society.
#20 End Our Differences
“If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.”
We will never eliminate all our differences, and we shouldn’t seek to do so, either. Diversity keeps life fun and interesting. Those who want to force assimilation or impose their way of life or ideology on others destroy what beauty we have in our world and make the planet an unsafe place for everyone who disagrees.
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