WHAT KIND OF PEACE DO WE WANT by J.F. Kennedy

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American politician. He served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. The present extract was a speech given by him at American University, Washington on June 10, 1963.

In his speech Kennedy stressed the importance of world peace. Kennedy meant a genuine peace and not that of the peace enforced by the Pax Americana. According to him peace will make life on earth worth living and people will be able to build a better life for their children.

Kennedy pointed out the dangers of the new face of war. A singular nuclear weapon is far more dangerous than the weapons used by all the allied forces in the Second World War. The poisonous gas emitted during a nuclear exchange would affect even the unborn generations. So Kennedy felt that to know the value of peace is of utmost importance in this modern age of weapons.

Many nations spend billions of dollars in acquiring weapons, though they say that they will never use them. Weapons will create only destruction and by no means has it assured peace between nations. Kennedy argued that the pursuit of peace is not as easy as the pursuit of war. Many think peace is impossible and war is inevitable. But Kennedy felt that war can be avoided. He said that war is man made and therefore he alone has to stop it, and he can.

Kennedy said that he was not talking of absolute peace. He asked people to focus on more practical and attainable peace. Peace according to Kennedy should be attained by concrete actions and effective agreements. He further added that genuine peace can be attained only by the effort of many nations and by the sum of many acts. He said that peace should be dynamic and not static.

World peace does not require the love between the neighboring nations but it required mutual tolerance and submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. He said that enmity between nations will not last longer.

Kennedy felt that peace need not ne impracticable and war inevitable. By defining the goal of peace clear and by making it more manageable and less remote we can make the people to realize its real value and to move irresistibly towards it. Halting the arms race is an important step towards peace

Kennedy ended his speech by stressing the importance of the planet that we all inhabit. He said that humans have to pay attention to the common interests and the means by which the differences can be resolved. He felt that even if the differences cannot be resolved, the world should be made safe for diversity.

---HAPPY LEARNING----

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