David McCullough, the author and historian, spoke at the midday ceremony at Dealey Plaza that marked the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination. Here is the text of McCullough's speech:
He spoke to us in that now distant time past with a vitality and sense of purpose such as we had never heard before. He was young to be President, but it didn’t seem so if you were younger still. He was ambitious to make it a better world, and so were we. “Let the word go forth [he said]… that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…”
It was an exciting time. He talked of all that needed to be done, of so much that mattered – equal opportunity, unity of purpose, education, the life of the mind and spirit, art, poetry, service to one’s country, the courage to move forward into the future, the cause of peace on earth.
His was the inspiring summons to serve, to hard work and worthy accomplishment, that we longed for. He was an optimist and said so, but there was no side-stepping reality in what he said, no resorting to stale old platitudes.
"A set of challenges"
He spoke to the point and with confidence. His words changed lives, changed history. Rarely has a commander-in-chief addressed the nation with such command of language.
Many passages from what he said apply now no less than half a century ago and will continue, let us hope, to be taken to heart far into the future the world over.
Gone but not forgotten is the old expression for departed heroes. But if not forgotten, they are not gone.
On this day especially, and at this place, let us listen again to some of what John F. Kennedy said:
“The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises – it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask them.”
“This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened…. The heart of the question is… whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.”
"Contributions to the human spirit"
“We must educate our children as our most valuable resource…. We must have trained people – many trained people – their finest talents brought to the keenest edge. We must have not only scientists, mathematicians, and technicians. We must have people skilled in the humanities…
I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft… I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization…”
“This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.”
“…art is the great unifying and humanizing experience….”
“The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and it is the test of the quality of a nation’s civilization.”
“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contributions to the human spirit…”
“If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place to live.”
“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.”
“Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean’s depths…”
"Dream of things that never were"
“Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention, the first waves of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be part of it… We set sail on this new sea because there is to be new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people… But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal?... We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and to do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills; because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
“… the goal of a peaceful world… is our guide for the present and our vision for the future… the quest is the greatest adventure of our century. We sometimes chafe in the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security in evasion, no solution in abdications, no relief in irresponsibility.”
“The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics, whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were, and ask why not?”
“Those things that we talk about today, which seem unreal, where so many people doubt that they can be done – the fact of the matter is it has been true all through our history – they will be done…”
"His love of life and love of his country"
John Kennedy’s words, again and again, are fired with his love of life and love of his country and its history. He read history, he wrote history, and understood that history is not just about times past, but also about those who populate the present, each new generation as he liked to say, and that we, too, will be judged by history. And that we owe it to those who went before and those who will follow, to measure up, and, yes, perhaps even surpass the achievements of the past with what we accomplish and with the values we stand by.
He also knew from his reading and from experience that very little of consequence is ever accomplished alone, but by joint effort. America has been a joint effort all down the years and we must continue in that spirit.
As he himself said, “For I can assure you that we love our country, not for what it was – though it has always been great – not for what it is – though of this we are deeply proud – but what it someday can and, through the efforts of us all, someday will be.”
