A Celebration Of Freedom
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada on this inauguration day.
Today, a new president will be sworn in to lead our country, but I’m reflecting on a different inauguration. I was just a kid when John Kennedy took the oath to lead America, and recently I read his inaugural address as part of a tutorial for my voice activation software. And as I recited his words, I was brought to tears. So, this being an important moment in our country, let me touch on the highlights that moved me the most in Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address. This is what he said:
“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 forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago. The world is [a] very different [place] now. For [a] man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. 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. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we [will] pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge – and more. To those old allies…we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do…Divided there is little we can do – for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder…
“To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves – not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich…
“So let us begin anew – remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof…Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah – to ‘undo the heavy burdens…[and] let the oppressed go free.’…In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course…
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America [can] do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man…with history as the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking [God’s] blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”
Again, those are the words of John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address from 60 years ago today.
© Joni and Friends
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