Quote:Originally posted by madmick
The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. — JOHN F. KENNEDY
Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, commie.
<i>"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." </i>
-- <a href="http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pioaths.html" target=new>January 20, 1961: John F. Kennedy spoke this oath, as administered by Earl Warren, Chief Justice</a>
And nice try, but you omitted the opening part of the address:
<i>We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.
<b>The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life</b>. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--<b>the belief</b> that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.</i>
He is not arguing that the "rights of Man" come from God... he acknowledges that the times of that <u>belief</u> have changed, and that mankind (the "generosity of the state") now holds sway over the rights of Man, even as he makes his oath before God and country. I know, the wording in that part of the speech is awkward, but it is as it is: the "revolutionary belief" in God-granted rights gave way to rights granted by the generosity of the state in more modern times.
<i>We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. <b>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 the success of liberty</b>.
This much we pledge--and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. ...
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. <b>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</b>.
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, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
<b>And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country</b>.</i>
-- excerpts taken from <a href="http://www.classbrain.com/artteenst/publish/article_102.shtml">John F. Kennedy's inaugural address</a>.
Like it or not, from the first Revolutionary army being made up of farmers and merchants called into service, to today's students and up-and-coming businessmen having to put their personal lives on hold for service to this country, the draft has existed, and will continue to exist, in one form or another. Kennedy acknowledged as much, becuase it is necessary for us to be willing to make that sacrifice of <i>individual freedom</i> to maintain <i>national freedom</i>, because the two freedoms are inherently intertwined-- one simply cannot exist without the other.
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