John F. Kennedy gave this speech in the beginning of 1961. At this time school children practiced burying their heads under their desks during air raid drills, the sales of backyard bomb shelters were on the rise, and the threat of total nuclear devastation consumed communities (Danzer et al). He begins his speech with this in mind and articulates, "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." This beginning sets the tone for the speech. He, like Eisenhower, suggests the money spent on modern weapons can be better utilized to solve social problems. He recommends that inspections and control of arms can be used to gain trust among powerful nations. He realizes that this increased military production will not benefit the world and proposes, "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 us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." (Kennedy). This passage promotes communication as a root to problem-solving. Kennedy asks the nations of the world to join together to fight tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. I have chosen this speech because this unit is centered on this idea.
This speech was also chosen because of the passion that Kennedy exhibits while presenting his views. His ability to manipulate his vocal volume at key points helps him to build momentum when expressing key points. The climactic point resolves at the end with his famous "ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." What I am most impressed with is what he states next when speaks to all peoples of the world. He opens communication with them and states: "ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." (Kennedy).
After analyzing this source my students will generate ideas put forth by Kennedy to end war between nations by communication. It also is an excellent source of vocabulary in context. The meaning of words such as
civility, eradicate, adversary
and
sincerity
can be figured out from the context of the surrounding sentence and paragraph.
