Dr. Malcolm Perry was on duty at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas when John Fitzgerald Kennedy suddenly appeared, surrounded by bodyguards on a stretcher. It is the last expected visit, and even less so in a state as critical as the one where there was not much for the President of the United States to do. The injuries caused by a sniper’s shots in Dealey Square were very serious and he eventually died in his arms. According to the doctor years later, this was in many ways the worst moment of his life as the whole country fell on him because he could not save his life.
Almost at the same time that Kennedy breathed his last, a young man named Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested near the aforementioned square. When the police surprised him, he started screaming: “I didn’t kill President Kennedy!” I didn’t kill anyone! “I don’t know about that.” Despite the tension of the moment, Perry never shied away from the spotlight and never took a day off. To relieve some of this pressure, he didn’t even exchange guards with his colleagues. He continued to work tirelessly, not knowing that the arrested man and suspected perpetrator of the shooting would be admitted to the emergency room 48 hours later. He was unconscious in an ambulance. He had just been shot by a small-time Chicago gangster, Jack Ruby, as a sign of revenge for his assassination attempt.
If none of this had happened, President Kennedy should have been bidding farewell to his supporters at the Austin Municipal Auditorium the moment he arrived unconscious at the hospital with the words: “We are, more by fate than by choice, the Guardians stand on the walls of world freedom. We demand, therefore, to be worthy of the power and responsibility we have, so that we may exercise our influence with wisdom and moderation and realize in our time and forever the ancient aspiration of “peace on earth for all people” of goodwill ‘. That must always be our goal.
Kennedy was scheduled to give this speech to the Democratic State Committee. The message was that the nation must remain united at a time of such conflict and division. He should have addressed the audience after his parade through the streets of Dallas, in which he lost. The president had only been in office for just over a thousand days, a very short period of time, but during a time of turbulent change that he himself helped shape with his words.
“Let us not argue among ourselves”
“Let us unite with renewed confidence in our cause, united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future, and resolve that this land we love will lead all humanity to new frontiers of peace and plenty.” […]. “Let us not fight among ourselves when the future of our nation is at stake,” he should have said. The text, published years later, ended with what would now be a capricious statement of intent: “In today’s world, freedom can be lost without shooting, both with voices and with bullets.”
The mark Kennedy left behind is surprising given the short time he was in power before his assassination. This achievement is particularly valuable as it dealt with the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba, the “missile crisis” of 1962, the threat of a Third World War, the construction of the Berlin Wall, and the beginning of the space race between the United States and the USSR, the consolidation of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War with its massive protests. All challenges that presented the new president with unprecedented situations, which he analyzed in detail in his famous speeches, just as he wanted to do in the speech in Dallas.
“In addition to his influence and his ability to manage highly complex situations such as civil rights, the Cold War and the missile crisis, his figure is of great importance for modern political communication as we know it today.” The campaigns, the debates, the importance of dealing with Narratives and their ability to show empathy for society as a whole were very important. “He knew how to reduce narrative tension while showing firmness in his convictions and decisions,” political scientist Jose Pedro Marfil tells ABC.
Among all the speeches we can highlight those that he made when he was nominated as the candidate of the Democratic Party (Los Angeles, July 15, 1960), when he took office as President at the Capitol (Washington, January 20, 1961), when he announced this the Apollo space program at Rice University (Houston, October 12, 1962), the one he gave on radio and television about civil rights (White House, June 11, 1963) and the one he gave in front of the Berlin Wall held (West Germany). , June 26, 1963), in addition to the one already mentioned by Dallas, which he could not pronounce and which we leave to you in full below
Austin’s full speech
I am honored to have been invited, along with members of the Dallas Assembly, to speak at the annual meeting of the Dallas Citizens Council, and I welcome the opportunity to honor the Southwest Graduate Research Center.
It is very fitting that these two symbols of progress come together in Dallas to support this meeting. Because, as I have been told, they represent the best qualities of leadership and teaching in this city, and leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. Learning progress depends on community leadership to secure the financial and political support and resources for good education, which in turn are essential to direct leadership toward progress and prosperity. It is no coincidence that communities with the best research and graduate institutions, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech), tend to attract new industries and generate growth. I congratulate those of you here in Dallas who have recognized these fundamental facts by establishing this unique, graduate-focused research center.
This connection between leadership and training is essential not only for the social community. In world affairs it is even more necessary. Ignorance and misinformation can harm the progress of a city or a company, but they can, if I may say so, influence foreign policy and harm the security of this country. In a world full of complex and enduring problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, the leadership of the United States must be guided by the lights of education and reason, or those that balance rhetoric with reality and the estimable with possible will are gaining popularity and reputation with their seemingly quick and easy solutions to all the world’s problems.
Dissenting voices will always be heard in the nation, expressing their opposition with no alternative, distributing blame, but never in favor, they are the ones who perceive sadness everywhere and try to exert influence without responsibility. These voices are inevitable.
But today other voices can be heard in the country, voices that preach doctrines that are completely alien to reality, completely inappropriate for the sixties, doctrines that seem to assume that words are enough without weapons, that insult is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness. At a time when national debt is steadily being reduced as a burden on our economy, they see debt as the greatest threat to our security.
At a time when we are gradually reducing the number of federal employees working per thousand citizens, they fear these supposed hordes of civil servants much more than the real hordes that oppose harmony.
We cannot expect everyone to, to use the decades-old phrase, “show reason with the American people.” But we can hope that fewer and fewer people hear nonsense. And the idea that this nation will be defeated by a deficit or that strength is nothing more than a matter of slogans is just nonsense.
I want to talk to you today about our power and our security, because this issue clearly requires the most responsible leadership and the best trained people in universities.
The strength and security of this nation is neither easy nor cheap, nor can it be explained quickly and easily. There are many types of starch, but none of them will be enough. An overwhelming nuclear force cannot stop a guerrilla war. Formal pacts and alliances cannot prevent internal revolts. The display of our material wealth cannot stop the disillusionment of discriminated diplomats.
Above all, words alone are not enough. The United States is a peaceful nation. And where our strength and determination are clearly evident, our words must express only conviction and not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. When we are weak, words are of no use.
I recognize that this nation often tends to identify turning points in world affairs with the important speeches that preceded them. But it was not the Monroe Doctrine that kept all of Europe out of this hemisphere, but the strength of the British fleet and the breadth of the Atlantic Ocean. It was not General Marshall’s speech at Harvard that saved Western Europe from communism, but the strength and stability made possible by military and economic aid.
In this government it was also necessary at times to issue very specific warnings, warnings that we cannot stand idly by while the communists conquer Laos by force, intervene in the Congo or try to swallow West Berlin, or have missiles at their disposal Attack in Cuba. But while our goals have been achieved, at least temporarily, in these and other cases, our successful defense of freedom is due not to the words we use but to the force we are willing to use in the name of the principles we stand for .ready to defend.
This force is made up of many different elements, ranging from massive deterrents to more subtle influences. And all kinds of power are needed, a single power could do the job alone. Let us therefore take a moment to review this nation’s progress in each of the key areas where force has been used.
First, as Secretary of Defense McNamara made clear in his speech last Monday, the strategic nuclear power of the United States has been modernized and expanded over the past thousand days thanks to the rapid production and deployment of advanced missile systems. If one of the potential attackers now realizes that it is impossible to achieve a strategic victory and they are sure that utter destruction could result if they should never force upon us by a desperate attack the need for a strategic response.
In less than three years, we have increased by 50% the number of Polaris submarines entering service next year; our overall Polaris purchasing program has grown by more than 70%; increased our Minuteman missile procurement program by more than 75%; The number of strategic bombers capable of being on alert in 15 minutes has been increased by 50%, and the total number of nuclear weapons available in our strategic alert forces has been increased by a sufficient percentage. Our security is enhanced by the measures we have taken with respect to these weapons to ensure the speed and effectiveness of their response, their readiness to respond at all times, their ability to survive an attack and their ability to be carefully controlled and safely controlled. to be improved by the operators who edit them.
But the lessons of the last decade have taught us that freedom cannot be defended with a nuclear strategic force alone. That is why, over the last three years, we have accelerated the development and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons and increased the number of tactical nuclear forces stationed in Western Europe by 60%.
Neither in Europe nor on any other continent can we rely solely on nuclear forces, neither strategically nor tactically. We have radically improved the preparation of our conventional forces, the number of army combat divisions has increased by 45%; the purchase of modern weapons and equipment for the modern army increased by 100%; Our construction, conversion and modernization of the naval fleet grew by 100%, our acquisition of tactical aircraft grew by a high percentage; The number of tactical air squadrons was increased by 30% and the Marine Corps force was expanded. As “Operation Big Lift,” which originated here in Texas, clearly demonstrated last month, this country is preparing like never before to mobilize significant numbers of men in a very short period of time to the most progressive positions around the world . We have increased our transport aircraft purchases by 175% and have already increased our strategic airlift capacity by 75%. Finally, beyond the traditional roles of our armed forces, we have achieved a nearly 60% increase in our special forces, these are the units that are ready to work with our allies and friends against the guerrillas, saboteurs, revolutionaries, etc. who are murderers of freedom threaten in an indirect but equally dangerous way.
But an American soldier should not and need not be alone against the ambitions of international communism. Our security and strength ultimately depend directly on the security and strength of others, and that is why our military and economic assistance plays a key role in ensuring that those living on the margins of the communist world can maintain their freedom of choice.
Aid to these countries can be painful, risky and costly, as is the case in Southeast Asia today. But we accept the challenge without giving up the task. Thanks to our help, it is possible to maintain 3 to 5 million Allied troops along the communist border at one-tenth the cost of maintaining a similar number of American soldiers. A successful communist advance in these areas would require direct intervention by the United States and would cost us many times our entire foreign aid program and could also cost us many American lives.
About 70% of our military aid goes to nine key countries located on or near the border of the communist bloc, nine countries directly or indirectly facing the threat of communist aggression, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Greece, Turkey and Iran. None of these countries alone has the resources necessary to maintain the armed forces that our Chiefs of Staff believe are necessary for the common interest.
Reducing our efforts to train, equip and support their armies can only encourage communist penetration in the long run and would then require greater deployment of American combat troops abroad. And a reduction in the economic aid needed to strengthen these nations that help defend freedom could have catastrophic consequences. In short, the $50 billion spent each year on our own defense may well be ineffective without the $4 billion needed to maintain military and economic support.
The volume of our foreign aid program is not increasing; on the contrary, it is now smaller than in previous years. They had their weaknesses, but we are committed to working with them in any way necessary. And the right way to deal with weaknesses is to replace them with strengths, without reinforcing those weaknesses by disempowering essential programs. Dollar for dollar, inside or outside of government, there is no better way to invest in our national security than our struggling foreign aid program. We can’t afford to lose.
But we can afford to keep it. Surely we can afford, for example, to do for our nineteen needy neighbors in Latin America what the communist bloc is doing on the island of Cuba alone.
I have spoken at length about violence in terms of deterrence, resistance to aggression and attack. But in today’s world, freedom can be lost without a single shot being fired, whether by voting or by bullets. The success of our leadership depends as much on respect for our mission in the world as for our missiles, on a clear recognition of the virtues of freedom as well as the evils of tyranny.
For this reason, our Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has doubled its shortwave radio transmission power of the Voice of America; the number of broadcast hours increased by 30%; Repeat broadcasts in Spanish for Cuba and Latin America increased from 1 to 9 hours per day; The number of American books translated and published for readers in Latin America has increased sevenfold (between 3 and 5 million), and a number of measures have been taken to bring the message of truth and freedom to every corner of the country World. Country.
And that is why we have regained the initiative in space exploration, committing an annual effort greater than the sum of all space programs carried out in the fifties, putting into orbit more than 130 valuable vehicles weather and communications satellites, and we have made it clear to everyone that the United States of America has no intention of taking second place in the space race.
This effort is expensive, but in its own way it is worth it to preserve freedom and the United States. For in the free world there is no longer any fear that the communist bloc’s advantage in the race for the conquest of space could become a permanent confirmation of its supremacy and the basis of its military superiority. There is no longer any doubt about the strength and effectiveness of American science, American industry, American education, and the American free enterprise system. In short, our space efforts as a nation represent a great asset and are the great source of our national strength, and Texas and Texans contribute significantly to that strength.
Finally, it must be clear that a nation cannot be stronger abroad than at home. Only an America that practices what it preaches about equality and social justice will be respected by those whose choices affect our future. Only an America that has fully educated its citizens is able to confront the complex problems and recognize the hidden dangers of the world in which it lives. And only an America that grows and prospers economically can sustain the defense of freedom around the world while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities that our political system and our American society offer to all.
So it is clear that we are strengthening our security and our economy by breaking records in income and production and leading most of Western Europe in the speed of business expansion and rising prices. Corporate profit margins, by maintaining a more stable price level than almost all of our competitors abroad and by reducing taxes on personal and corporate income by about $11 million, as I have suggested, to give this country the longest and strongest period of expansion and to secure economic peace in our history.
The total output of this country, which was $500,000 million three years ago, will soon exceed $600,000 million and also reach a record level of more than $1 trillion in three years. For the first time in history, we have 70 million men and women working here. For the first time in history, the average wage of factory workers exceeded $100 per week. For the first time in history, corporate after-tax profits rose 43% in less than three years, reaching an annual value of $27.4 billion.
Friends and fellow citizens, I quote these facts and figures to clearly show that the United States is stronger today than ever before. Our opponents have not given up their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot relax. But now we have the military, scientific and economic power to do what we must do to preserve and promote freedom everywhere. This violence is not used to satisfy warlike ambitions, but always in the search for peace. It is never used to promote provocations, but always to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
We in this nation, in this generation, more by our fate than by our choice, are the guardians who stand on the walls of world freedom. We demand, therefore, to be worthy of the power and responsibility we have, so that we may exercise our influence with wisdom and moderation and realize in our time and forever the ancient aspiration of “peace on earth for all” “men of good will .” This must always be our aim, and the justice of our cause must always be the basis of our strength. For as it was written long ago, “If the Lord does not take care of the city, the watchmen will keep watch in vain.”