The
Monkey-Rope
By Barney Morgan
IPS Features

Return to Current IPS Features

Return to Catalogue

IPS Features Staff

International Press Service

Write:
Barney@ipsfeatures.com

An inspired quote

"Ask  not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

That quotation, from former President John Kennedy's inaugural address, has inspired a lot of people. I was watching and listening as he spoke the words. Politically, it was one of those galvanizing moments in American history. There was clearly a feeling that our nation was on the threshold of something special, of something noble and uplifting.

There probably is no way to prove it, but I believe that by the time of the speech, Kennedy had a much higher percentage of admirers and supporters than the razor-thin margin by which he defeated Richard Nixon two months earlier. Kennedy was one of those rare people who are naturally inspirational. He told us that we should do great things, that we should want to do great things, and he made us believe that we could do great things. I was among the enthralled.

But from the moment he spoke the "Ask not" words, something about them bothered me. I asked myself, "What is he really saying here?" If he was saying don't be selfish, consider the group welfare above your individual welfare, that's an admirable ambition. And I think that's the way most people have interpreted the quotation. I have never been able to accept it quite that way.

To me, the quotation leans strongly toward saying that the people should serve the government rather than that the government should serve the people. And that is almost the exact opposite of what I think our country is all about. From its inception, our country has been structured on and around the primacy of the individual. Our laws and customs have been fashioned to protect and preserve the rights of the individual. It is precisely because we have treasured the rights of the individual that we have a government that submits to the will of the people.

Overall, I thought President Kennedy's inaugural address was excellent. I especially liked his declarations that we will "pay any price" and "oppose any foe" in doing and being what we think a great nation should do and be. And I have wrestled with the "Ask not" quotation for all these 45 years. But I've never been able to get comfortable with it, and I've never been able to be completely comfortable finding fault with a quotation that has obviously inspired so many people.

Shortly after Robert Kennedy was assassinanted in 1968, my family and I visited both Kennedys' graves in Arlington National Cemetery. John's grave was ornately impressive, with his "Ask not" and several of his other memorable quotations carved into the surrounding marble. Bobby's grave was a contrast in simplicity, and as such, also impressive.

But when I think of President Kennedy's legacy, the thing I always come back to is his speech to the Houston Ministerial Association during his campaign for the country's highest public office. The thrust of the speech was the defense of his right as a Catholic to be president of the United States. His primary argument was that when his older brother, Joe, a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, was killed in World War II, nobody had questioned his right to serve in the military. That's a powerful argument.

We have had eight presidents since Kennedy. To me, none of them has been as inspirational as he was. As a speaker, Ronald Reagan came closest. And Jimmy Carter has been an inspirational ex-president. As it looks now, the 2008 presidential election isn't likely to produce much inspiration. I hope I get to admit a mistake in that prediction.