... and as I listen to Obama and McCain go back and forth about which foreign leaders it's OK to meet with and which ones aren't, I think about a quote from John Kennedy's Inaugural Address:"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. "
Everyone knows that address for, "Ask not what your country can do for you ..." but it's filled with passages that sound as relevant today as they did more than 40 years ago.
"Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce."
'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."
He inspired us first to dream and then to act, and reminded us what makes America the greatest nation on earth. Reading voraciously about JFK has informed my politics and world view, and I'm proud to be his acolyte. Naturally this has led me to Barack Obama today.
P.S. My prayers are with the youngest Kennedy brother tonight. As I post this, Ted Kennedy is back home and resting comfortably.
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