I got around to rereading JFK's inaugural address last night and, while it's impossible to truly know what it was like to be someone living in that time, I couldn't help but be filled with Kennedy's grand vision for America and the world. It was so audacious, but also inspirational. And it's a shame people always take that one quote out of context when really it was a call to arms to end poverty, end communism, end tyranny, end disease in a journey that could take a thousand years but had to begin now. Kennedy was obsessed with sacrifice and duty and really took to heart that a generation after wwii there was another opportunity for heroes to rise to the occasion.
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. This much we pledge – and more."
Both a threat and a rally in one line. Stunning.