Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Ask Not. . . The other day I went looking for the ...
Ask Not. . . The other day I went looking for the ...: "Ask Not. . .The other day I went looking for the correct text that had Kennedy’s “ask not what your country can do for you” apostrophe in his inaugural address, and when I found the full version, I was simply astonished at what it contains. It’s enough for a digression. Here are some passages, but the whole thing is remarkable almost 50 years later: To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. . . . 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, 'rejo"