Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
On Thursday, the US Embassy and Free University of Berlin honored President John F. Kennedy’s
inauguration on January 20, 1961. The President of the Free University of Berlin, Dr. Peter-Andre
Alt, and the United States Ambassador to Germany, Philip D. Murphy, discussed Kennedy’s visit
to Berlin and the continued interest in both Kennedy himself and his presidency in speeches
and a subsequent discussion. In honor of the event, the Free University held an exhibition
of historical photos and films of John F. Kennedy’s June 1963 visit to Dahlem.
“…we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose
any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
“My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together
we can do for the freedom of man.”
Kennedy’s victory also signified a political change. His inaugural address reinforced this
external impression. In it, Kennedy appealed to the individual responsibility of each citizen.
He also invoked a new boldness and an unbiased analysis of the political reality and indicated
that in the future, there would no longer be barriers against agreements and confidence-building
measures between the antagonistic powers of the Cold War; that is, “never fear to negotiate.”
We remember President Kennedy’s inaugural speech when he challenged Americans, and his
fellow citizens of the world, to ask how they could make a difference. He won the election
by one of the smallest popular vote margins in history; but following his inaugural address,
nearly seventy-five percent of Americans expressed approval of the new President. People, young
and old, who witnessed the speech or heard it broadcast over television or radio wrote
to the President with their reactions to his ideas. He inspired generations of Americans.
He changed people’s lives; I can tell you he changed mine. They got involved in public
service or politics because he asked them to; and they, in turn, passed that spirit
on to the next generation. That enthusiasm did not end at America’s shores. People
on this side of the Atlantic were also inspired by the idealism and the message of hope that
America’s young president came to represent.
But more importantly, perhaps, than the legacy of a president gone by are the achievements
of the president today who, too, faces enormous challenges. In his White House office, President
Obama has a carpet with five historical quotes. One of the quotations he selected is from
President Kennedy’s American University speech. This is the passage he selected: "No
problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."
"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." That is the legacy we all must live
up to – and that for me is the legacy of John F. Kennedy