50 Years Later, JFK Still Powerful

I’ve always heard such great things about John F. Kennedy, but I really never knew anything about him. Throughout growing up and going to school it was pretty common to hear adults mention his name, especially in sentences like, “Oh I remember when Kennedy was in office…” or just some mention of how wonderful of a person he was. It always seemed that Kennedy was somebody’s close friend or relative the way he was talked about. Grandmothers just love him.

Well, finally I got the chance to find out a little bit about what JFK was like through watching his inaugural address. It has been fifty years since the cold, winter day that he made his monumental speech in Washington. In the version of his inauguration speech that I found to watch on Youtube there was a text marquee every so often on the screen mentioning that the night prior to the inauguration there was a heavy snow storm. It was debated whether or not to postpone the important date because of the conditions, but it was decided to keep all plans in place. It was too important of a speech to postpone. I would guess that for a speech like the one JFK gave that day, he was very prepared to speak to America and wouldn’t want to wait another day to give his powerful words:

“Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do, for your country.”

Seeing the full speech and being able to fit these words into the actual paragraph they came from, really made a difference. I of course had heard the phrase before, but until it is put with the rest of the speech it didn’t have as much weight. The entire speech flowed beautifully and was incredibly influential. Every word was clearly carefully chosen and spoken clearly to people listening all over the world.

JFK was a masterful speaker, and had a way with captivating his audience. I understand now how my grandmother felt that he was her close friend.

Because the 50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration has just passed, many have taken to comparing Kennedy to Obama. I can see certain similarities – both are amazing public speakers, and both connect with the American public in a way that other American presidents just do not.

People need in Obama what they got from Kennedy in a similar time. People want to hear the same kind of inspirational words. Obviously they are two different people, but I think we are pretty lucky to have someone who is worth comparing to a great president like John F. Kennedy in office during our generation.