JFK's Iconic Speech on Arts and Politics (1962) | The Kennedy Center

[@KENKENNIFF]

Not just fine words but pure logic, spoken at a time of extreme crisis. Its a measure of his greatness that this is one of his lesser known speeches internationally.

[@AnalogCinema]

a political leader who understood the importance of art. makes me want to cry.

[@matthewgallagher1761]

Superb speech - could you imagine hearing something like this today? To educate and enlighten citizens who may not know the works of the Greeks? Who may have never heard these wise quotes or know these artists? So much is education. And, today, far too much is the lowest common denominator. We were a beacon then to the world. I hope we can be so again.

[@CWYMAN77]

Sadly, I believe that hope was lost in the 60’s. The National Security state took power in Dallas and has never relinquished it. The Second World War taught these criminals that perpetual war, fear, and division was their ticket to enormous wealth and control. JFK wanted to end the Cold War in his second term and it ended up lasting over 25 years after he was killed.

[@CWYMAN77]

@HereWeGo Read it years ago. He hit the nail on the head.

[@davidpaz9389]

In the US finding things to be offended by has become the virtue that the quest for knowledge and the betterment of one's self were.

[@barbaraholland2809]

@@davidpaz9389 I agree with you 💯❤️❤️🙏

[@ML-ul2zq]

@HereWeGo Yes, the best book on JFK by far.

[@cindyharrison542]

What an articulate elegant speaker. What a huge loss to America and the world.

[@tatortot1542]

Wait til you hear John John speak when the time is right. 🙏

[@analiamonte353]

Yea just like just every just man they get sacrificed!!! Cuz the people claim innocent blood

[@ollehedstrom3536]

Great speech once again from this man, whose legacy lives on and on and on....Those who were responsible for his death will be forever forgotten, not their victim though.

[@fashfront]

Modern day crucifixion

[@CWYMAN77]

America’s last President.

[@9ine6ix4ourtwenty6]

Today would be different if Bush wasn’t elected to President again.

[@stn7172]

The Gewwws killed him

[@nathanaelsloan5003]

With all due respect,I think Obama was a great president, as Kennedy was. Probably not near as incredible as Kennedy, but great in his own right.

[@daphneduryea9136]

@@stn7172 Freemasons. It was a 'Killing of the King' ritual blood sacrifice.

[@DustyB]

@@stn7172 racist

[@AlexLutzC]

Mr. Stevens, Mrs. Gardner, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Chief Justice, ladies and gentlemen: This is a notable occasion for all of us here in Washington and around the country, and I am very happy to greet all of you who have come and who are taking part in this great effort. I hope that you're as proud of it as I am. We're particularly pleased to have with us as our guest tonight from Augusta, Ga., the man under whose administration this project was started and who has given it wholehearted support - ladies and gentlemen, General Eisenhower. General, I am sorry we are not all there with you. I want to assure the officials of my administration tonight that this demonstration of support for the arts is modest and painless compared to what has been required of past governments and past administrations. In 1664, Louis the XIV, in his own efforts to encourage the arts, donned brilliant tights and played in a drama called "Furious Roland" before a happy court. Moreover, he drafted the highest offices of his administration for the play so that, according to an account, all clad in brilliant tights themselves they passed before the Queen and the Court. This was suggested tonight but for some reason or other the committee turned it down. But we are glad to be here in any case. And we are glad to be the guests of honor of the representatives of much of the finest in American culture and much of the finest in American life. And we are very much indebted to all the artists who have so willingly taken part in this work tonight. For when Thomas Jefferson wrote that the one thing which from the heart he envied certain other nations, and that was their art, he spoke from a deep understanding of the enduring sources of national greatness and national achievement. But our culture and art do not speak to America alone. To the extent that artists struggle to express beauty in form and color and sound, to the extent that they write about man's struggle with nature or society, or himself, to that extent they strike a responsive chord in all humanity. Today, Sophocles speaks to us from more than 2,000 years. And in our own time, even when political communications have been strained, the Russian people have bought more than 20,000 copies of the works of Jack London, more than 10 million books of Mark Twain, and hundreds and thousands of copies of Hemingway, Steinbeck, Whitman, and Poe; and our own people, through the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky and Pasternak have gained an insight into the shared problems of the human heart. Thus today, as always, art knows no national boundaries. Genius can speak at any time, and the entire world will hear it and listen. Behind the storm of daily conflict and crisis, the dramatic confrontations, the tumult of political struggle, the poet, the artist, the musician, continues the quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between peoples, reminding man of the universality of his feelings and desires and despairs, and reminding him that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide. Thus, art and the encouragement of art is political in the most profound sense, not as a weapon in the struggle, but as an instrument of understanding of the futility of struggle between those who share man's faith. Aeschylus and Plato are remembered today long after the triumphs of imperial Athens are gone. Dante outlived the ambitions of 13th century Florence. Goethe stands serenely above the politics of Germany, and I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. It was Pericles' proudest boast that mighty Athens was the school of Hellas. If we can make our country one of the great schools of civilization, then on that achievement will surely rest our claim to the ultimate gratitude of mankind. Moreover, as a great democratic society, we have a special responsibility to the arts, for art is the great democrat calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. The mere accumulation of wealth and power is available to the dictator and the democrat alike. What freedom alone can bring is the liberation of the human mind and spirit which finds its greatest flowering in the free society. Thus, in our fulfillment of these responsibilities towards the arts lie our unique achievement as a free society. Thank you.

[@ramakrishnashenoy311]

I think the idealism with which American politics was identified the world over, notwithstanding a few lapses, died along with JFK that sunny morning on 22nd November 1963

[@TheWhills]

Never heard this before. That hit pretty hard

[@kristine6996]

The Mona Lisa, Beethoven, Da Vinci, Baroness Blixen, Mark Twain, Margot Fontaine, Rudolf Nureyev, Honoré de Balzac, Ravindranath Tagore, each one of them bringing solace, insight and beauty to all of us… regardless of time and space. R.I.P. President JFKennedy.

[@SKAR-zn1mz]

Just incredible and inspiring

[@barbaraholland2809]

@SKAR1017 I agree with you 💯. 🙏❤️

[@danthemanporto]

What a man

[@bradbyington6662]

Who is watching this in 1962?

[@darkglitchy3135]

Me

[@graphicsRat]

@@darkglitchy3135 Can I have my time machine back please. I need to return to 2416.

[@startervisions]

I like this guy

[@mendozajonathan23]

I hope you like trump cuz that’s the closest we will get to another jfk

[@startervisions]

@@mendozajonathan23 i don't remember writing that. Nor could I tell you why lol

[@AlfredEssa]

Thank you for making available what is arguably Kennedy's greatest speech. Let's hope it becomes better known. Does anyone know who wrote it? Sorensen?

[@sgt.puddingslaps]

Nobody knows but if he actually wrote it but as long as he truly believes in what he’s saying then it really was a huge shame and huge loss to America. Oh what could’ve been if ignorance and greed didn’t rule the country and world.

[@ML-ul2zq]

Sorensen was a great writer and knew Kennedy's inner voice, and he said JFK was a master editor.

[@jryecart8017]

@@ML-ul2zq In addition, Ted Kennedy’s public perception was bolstered by the immediate damage control and legal efforts undertaken by a group of Kennedy confidantes and advisers, including ex-defense secretary Robert McNamara and JFK speechwriter TED SORENSON. These behind-the-scenes maneuverings are explored in the 2018 film Chappaquiddick, whose script is based on the historical record, including the inquest into the accident released by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1970.

[@Yowzoe]

I came here looking for who wrote this speech. Google tells me Ted Sorenson did indeed.

[@ronl.magnus6833]

What a genius of a man. He was a visionary before his time. Like the Arts he championed , history will long honor and acknowledge his tremendous accomplishments and achievements. We are lucky to have witnessed him in America. What a colossal loss to our generation of Americans. We shall not see his like again, although many will come close, like President Obama! To hear him now, after 50 years after our loss, is an incredible honor! I will cherish his memory forever. May God bless the United States and May we never forget this genius is a Statesman!!!

[@jryecart8017]

In foreign policy he was strongly anti-Communist, and promptly launched an invasion of Castro's Cuba; it failed badly. A few new programs like the Peace Corps provided pacifists with an alternative to two years of military service in the peacetime draft. In terms of civil rights legislation, his proposals were all cautious and incremental. In three years he was unable to pass any significant civil rights legislation. For decades, historians have assumed, thanks to the important legislation passed in 1964-65, that John F. Kennedy and Lyndon V Johnson were the era’s great civil rights leaders and that Eisenhower failed to “speak out” on the issue. But Ike’s record speaks for itself. JFK and LBJ did not commit to the cause until 1963, when horrific violence in the South compelled them to. It is time, finally, to bury the myth that Ike did nothing on civil rights. In the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower was more progressive in advancing African-American civil rights than Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson.

[@kimlibera663]

Ecce omo. Behold the man. A speech that cannot be paralleled. Ties that bind, boundaries flounder. The measure of the human spirit. I always reach for this in our toxic world. Don't let the lights go out; they've lasted for so many years.

[@izvestia03]

Do you happen to have the small speech Jackie Kennedy gave after the President's remarks? I have seen it here on KZbin but the film quality is so poor--this footage is so much clearer .

[@kennedycenter]

Yes, we just posted it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5TFnaVritBljK8

[@matthewgallagher1761]

@@kennedycenter I was among the early visitors to the JFK Library as a college student in Boston. The original film they had was so outstanding, about 30 minutes in length, and far superior to the one they replaced it with. Do you still have that original film available for us here? It is both an inspiring and informative film for people who did not know JFK. Thank you.

[@nostalgia4522]

2:48

[@starvingartists498]

He should run for president in 2020

[@Perseverance0626]

He should run for President today

[@ccda3324]

These Clone High cosplays are getting out of control

[@boymata5923]

I still wonder why a great and brilliant man was assasinated. Whàt is their purpose in doing it.

[@dt3947]

He exposed secret societies and knew the Federal Reserve was created and privatized to fuck everyone over. Anyone else who called bullshit on the system was murdered too.

[@EdmacZ]

He knew too much and called BS on the system, which was growing more and more corrupt. Today we're seeing the fruits of the system.

[@davidviton1065]

He wanted to pull out of Vietnam and the war-makers were standing to lose billions of dollars

[@GeorgeFreeman55]

This man could recite the alphabet and I would do a thousand push ups.

[@ebooksajdakamave890]

❤We Reamain Faithfully To Beloved JFK's Ideals & On His Living Memorial ❤BEKSUIS ❤

[@philliphsieh83]

I support and will obey John F. Kennedy and Eisenhower forever!

[@amaruthen8v513]

For the Awts

[@goinggoinggone535]

How the hell did we go from this eloquent leadership to Donald Trump?

[@mooncrab]

Or almost as bad, Jim Crow Joe Biden?

[@goinggoinggone535]

@@mooncrab Joe Biden is an awkward leader, but at least he isn't stupidly suggesting Lysol injections as a virus cure.

[@goffokfm6821]

@@goinggoinggone535 Trump might be an oaf, but Biden is showing clear signs of early stage dementia and is being paraded around by those around him. The democrats have sabotaged their own campaign once again.

[@goinggoinggone535]

​@@goffokfm6821 Firstly, there is no indication that Biden has dementia. Even when he was young, the man was a walking gaffe machine. It's not as if Biden were some strapping, intellectual who suddenly started behaving differently once he got old. He's always been awkward, bumbling, and has also had a stutter since childhood which some rather cruel people say shows his mind is gone (like that Sarah Huckabee Sanders who apologized later when she found it out). Secondly, Trump isn't an "oaf". Trump has actual mental decline. When an old man suggests injecting Lysol, his mind has gone. When he has trouble walking on stairs and drinking water in public, it's an indication that things aren't what they used to be mentally. He even bragged about "acing" his cognitive exam where 2 of the hardest questions were identifying a picture of an elephant and counting backwards from 100 by 7, even saying it was "hard" to do so. That's mental decline if you're the president and have difficulty counting back from 100 by 7.

[@goffokfm6821]

​@@goinggoinggone535 There is several indications Biden is in mental decline. I live with someone in mental decline, it is quite clear to see. How would you know. Are you his doctor. Is there any indication we should trust anything his doctor or anyone in his camp says? Either way he’s clearly incompetent. No competent person fit to lead would choose such a divisive VP to run with and hope to win. Trump is defiantly an oaf mental decline or not. Your comparison was going from eloquence to Trump. An oaf is described as a stupid, uncultured, or clumsy person. Why make that comparison if your excuse is he is in mental decline? As someone who has always had severe trouble with Maths, it is quite insulting to suggest everyone is so capable of counting backward by 7. I can do it, but I wouldn’t find it overly easy. You’re acting like congnitibe test are infallible. Personally I don’t really care who gets elected. After societies actions over the past several months it has become clear that it is doomed to fail. At least in its current state. I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.

[@nikzar9889]

Hey look it's mr. President

[@amaruthen8v513]

Dude, don't state the obvious.

[@luisgonzalez-aponte2856]

4:05

[@hsg1380]

hi jef!

[@KJW1028]

❤

[@iniohos2]

how can i speak with this accent?

[@jeffmejia3556]

Go to Bawston, Massachusetts.

[@jeffmejia3556]

@HereWeGo I undastood ya’ da’ fuhst time……veegah.

[@Rossotto556]

CuDi brought me here

[@Sam-vt3tl]

How so?

[@lkrebs1722]

To bad he had aimbot

[@Lersia_art]

my the most favorite video in the world

[@folarinadejube5721]

Compare to Trump, I feel sorry for America. Trump will say: crazy Nancy Pelosi, he is stupid as a rock, I told his Prime Minister how to handle Brexit but she went her foolish way..... Very unfortunate such a man was US President

[@petedrumm2957]

Only Reagan was better

[@roscomeon3965]

Lol Reagan was a clown

[@petedrumm2957]

Ros I don't believe the Berlin wall came down because of the commies compared to all the Democrats, including the last two, Reagan didn't do anything wrong trump is and will be our next regan

[@transylvanianite3391]

Wrong Wrong Wrong by millions

[@jryecart8017]

@@roscomeon3965 JFK 19 year olf intern forced Alford to try drugs at a wild party hosted by Bing Crosby. According to Alford in the New York Post, the drug was amyl nitrate, commonly known as poppers. Allegedly Alford didn't want to try them but JFK opened a capsule and placed it under her nose. JFK then didn't try any himself.

[@jryecart8017]

@HereWeGo Judith Campbell Exner, who served as a conduit between JFK and mobster Sam Giancana, had an abortion after becoming pregnant with the President’s child, revealing details about their alleged affair in her 1977 memoir “My Story.” Jackie Kennedy is said to have been unsurprised by what the book revealed. The alleged mafia moll Exner spoke again of her relationship with the president in a 1997 interview with Vanity Fair in which she revealed that she ended her two-year affair with Kennedy in early 1963. It is around this time she claims that she aborted his child. Introduced to Kennedy via her ex Frank Sinatra, she ferried envelopes between the President and Sam Giancana, to whom she was also a mistress, including, she claims, alleged payoffs or instructions for vote-buying in elections and plans to kill Fidel Castro. “Jack never in a million years thought he was doing anything that would hurt me, but that’s the way he conducted himself; the Kennedys have their own set of rules,” she said.