There is almost no person in America who cannot finish the phrase which begins: "Ask not�" from John F. Kenney's Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961. It is a phrase which has particular currency in the present circumstance.
In my lifetime, Tuesday, September 11, 2001 joins the "where were you when�" list with the day (November 22, 1963) President Kennedy was assassinated, and the day (January 28, 1986) the Challenger exploded, and the night (January 16, 1991 EST) the Gulf War started.
My mother, can remember two additional "where were you when�" days. She, and the others of the swiftly declining numbers of her generation, also remember where she was when she heard the news (December 7, 1941) about Pearl Harbor; and she remembers where she was when she heard (April 12, 1945) that President Roosevelt had died.
Six "where were you when �" days in one lifetime are too many.
For The Lad and the young people of his generation this is already the third: He remembers the Challenger and we were together at the Washington, DC Boat Show when we heard that Desert Shield had suddenly changed to Desert Storm.
If a Dad's prayers are answered, his list will not grow any longer.
"Ask not �" was not a phrase thrown into the center of Kennedy's speech. It was the beginning of the climax, toward which the entire speech was constructed.
A growing dependence on the Federal government, which began with services developed during the Depression and then exploded into the absolute control of almost every corner of every person's life as part of the "war effort" became a habit, it turned out, not so easy to kick.
"And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
The world - especially Western Europe - was still exhausted from World War II. The geographical size of the United States, the size of its population, the enormity of our natural resources, and our astounding ability to design, produce, ship, and utilize war materiel had the rest of the free world looking to the United States as the only guardian of peace against a Soviet Union which had grown from wariness toward the West in the early part of the century, to loathing and dread as we moved into its latter half.
Hence, the next line written by speechwriter Theodore Sorenson:
"My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
We are now in another war. A different war, we are told. But all wars tend to be different from the wars that preceded it.
The notions of speed and nimbleness which became the hallmark of the most successful commanders in World War II were far different from the dependence upon (and the need to defeat) fixed fortifications and trenches which marked battle theory in World War I.
There are new pressures on the Federal government itself. We are in a different era wherein an omnipresent news media passes judgment on every decision, soften before the decision is even made, much less announced.
On the one hand there is a need to feed the media's never-satisfied maw if only to influence the results of the minute-by-minute public opinion polls which are sure to be a regular part of our daily news briefings. On the other, there is the need to conduct military planning and implementation in a manner which does not put your plans on page A-1 of newspapers as easily browsed on the Internet in an Afghan cave, as in the paper delivered to your doorstep.
Thus, the last paragraph of Kennedy's speech fits the current crisis as well:
"Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us, here, the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you."
If this week gives us any guidance, the President's White House team, his Cabinet, and the Congressional leadership have demonstrated their capacity for "high standards of strength."
And finally, the 1366-word speech ended with a prayer:
"With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Amen.
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On the Secret Decoder Ring page today there is an excellent Catchy Caption as well as links to two readers who shared their experiences. One, Ben Yale, was in Paris last week; the other, Bob Owen, in New York City.
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