Since this country was
founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give
testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans
who answered the call to service surround the globe.
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?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been
granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum
danger. I do not shank from this responsibility--I welcome it. I
do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other
people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the
devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country
and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light
the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for
you--ask what you can do for your country.
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