50 Years after the JFK Inaugural Address: The Legacy of Our Greatest Generation

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

President John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961

This landmark speech was the first Presidential Speech given by a member of our "Greatest Generation". The Generation that grew up during the Great Depression. The Generation that rallied together when Pearl Harbor was attacked and went on to defeat the armies and navies of Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito. The Generation that picked up the broken peices of what was left of America after the Depression, and rebuilt it into the industrial, economic and cultural giant that made it the envy of the world. The Generation that sent us into space, sent us to the moon, and beyond. The Generation that begat our Worst Generation, the generation that threw it all away, The Baby Boomers...

It is pure irony that the generation that showed us nothing but self-sacrifice for the greater good would give birth to the generation that shows nothing but self-absorption in itself. It is pure irony that the generation who built up the industrial jaugernaut that was the United States created the generation that traded it all away for the easy way out. Is it coincidence that the shift from an industrial based economy to a service based economy just happens to coincide with the parents of the Boomers retiring from the workforce? I think not...

And as for the progeny of the Boomers, we are even more doomed than we were. The spoiled Boomers have raised kids who are even lazier and more spoiled (and ill-mannered) than themselves. They lack any and all discipline, and the education system that the Boomers created has failed us consistently. I feel so bad for the few remaining members of our Greatest Generation who still remain with us, as they lived long enough to see their children crap all over that which they spilled both blood, sweat and tears to create. So the next time you go to post in one of the many political or social threads, ask yourself that all important question that President Kennedy asked us to ponder some 50 years ago, "...ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." If we don't get away from the "me" mentality, our society is doomed... that will be our legacy to future generations... But alas, I fear it is already too late...


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And as for the progeny of the Boomers, we are even more doomed than we were. The spoiled Boomers have raised kids who are even lazier and more spoiled (and ill-mannered) than themselves. They lack any and all discipline, and the education system that the Boomers created has failed us consistently. I feel so bad for the few remaining members of our Greatest Generation who still remain with us, as they lived long enough to see their children crap all over that which they spilled both blood, sweat and tears to create. So the next time you go to post in one of the many political or social threads, ask yourself that all important question that President Kennedy asked us to ponder some 50 years ago, "...ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." If we don't get away from the "me" mentality, our society is doomed... that will be our legacy to future generations... But alas, I fear it is already too late...

Wow, very well done. I was reading and at the end of your thread you stated about the "me" mentality and I instantly thought of the show Pawn Stars. There are so many cases where people are selling off their family's passed down items to accomodate there "wants" and not their needs. These Items that are a critical part of that family's history. I cannot stand to see people selling items that their fathers took the time and effort to pass it down the generations, only to be sold for a surf board. Here is a link to the History channel show.

www.history.com...


By the way. I think Kennedy was the last great president. But after reading the speach he was sounding like an NWO agent. But anyways I wanted to take the time and reply to your well thought out thread.

Selling your family tradition is not good unless it is the absolute last thing you can do to survive.