Leave the great indoorsnotes on the journey

On this Inauguration weekend I’m spending some time looking back at the inaugural addresses made by past presidents.  The address that captivated me the most was that of John F. Kennedy in 1961.  The lyrical content and almost musical quality of the speech is inspiring and timeless.  The parts I found most relevant for the world we live in today are his strong calls for social justice that are scattered throughout the speech.  Here are some excerpts:

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.

To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.   Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. 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.

Below is the full 10-minute address.  The hopefulness and optimism reminds me a lot of what President-elect Obama stands for, so as we prepare to hear him speak on Tuesday, let’s take some time to reflect on how history is not as far from the present as we might think.  And let’s put away our cynicism, at least for a little while, because as we saw again this week with the plane crash in the Hudson river – when people pull together towards a common goal, miracles happen.  Or, to use Obama’s own words:

We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

And let us also not forget Robert Kennedy’s words:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.