"When a man's way please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." "[3] In the speech, Kennedy announced his agreement to negotiations "toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty" (which resulted in the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty) and also announced, for the purpose of showing "good faith and solemn convictions", his decision to unilaterally suspend all U.S. atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons as long as all other nations would do the same. 2023 Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people--but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth. War and peace - Wikiquote Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. On November 19, 1962, Khrushchev had submitted a report to the Central Committee of the Communist Party that implicitly called for a halt in foreign intervention to concentrate on the economy. A Strategy of Peace: JFK's American University Speech Today, should total war ever break out againno matter howour two countries will be the primary target. January 31, 2022, How Tobacco Laws Could Help Close the Racial Gap on Cancer, Interactive It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of governmentlocal, State, and Nationalto provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within our authority. Postscript: Several readers have pointed out that Kennedy wasn't exactly a pacifist. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. A Strategy of Peace: JFK's American University Speech: Esko, Edward Even though it is less famous, it is my favorite 20th century speech. What kind of peace do I mean? And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. Our interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom, but in pursuing the paths of peace. He almost presents a method, a dream-and-do combination that soars with high vision and yet walk on earth with practical results. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. By sponsoring this institution of higher learning for all who wish to learn, whatever their color or their creed, the Methodists of this area and the Nation deserve the Nation's thanks, and I commend all those who are today graduating. [and that] the political aims of the American imperialists are to enslave economically and politically the European and other capitalist countries . As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete. The following day, Kennedy announced his administration's support for a strong new federal civil-rights bill. by means of aggressive wars.". We have also tried to set an example for othersby seeking to adjust small but significant differences with our own closest neighbors in Mexico and Canada. (2009). Convention Speeches (81) Debates (171) Party Platforms (103) . "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." But it canif it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and it is sufficiently in the interest of its signersoffer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home. Washington DC-Baltimore Area. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and build a better life for their childrennot merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and womennot merely peace in our time but peace in all time.