JFK Inaugural Address

政治のニュースが今日も、未来のために、あなたのために、と、まことしやかに語られます。しかし、どんなにお金をつかっても、いろんな事を変えても、何もよくなることがありませんでした。

日本で、意思決定をしている人々は、真剣に問題解決をしようとしているのでしょうか? 

古い演説なので、時代にあわない部分もあります。ただ、覚悟してでも解決しようとした、立ち向かおうとした時代のスピーチのなかに、心を打つものがあります。そういう部分を(英語で)自ら取り出し、どのようなことも、自分自身の良心に照らして、自分自身の考えを構築し、行動をしていくことが、大事だと思います。

歴史的演説といわれています。「歴史的」というのは何を指すのでしょうか。

長い時間が過ぎてもなお、その時間をこえて、私達に届くものが見つかるもの。

(長い 高校生,大学生 大統領就任演説 1961 | John F Kennedy スピーチ動画
動画はこちら  https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/inaugural-address
)

We observe today/not a victory of party / but a celebration of freedom -  symbolizing an end / as well as a beginning - signifying renewal / as well as change.

For I have sworn / before you / and Almighty God / the same solemn oath/our forbears prescribed / nearly a century / and three-quarters ago.

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.

This much we pledge / and more.

To those old allies / whose cultural / and spiritual origins / we share, /
we pledge the loyalty / of faithful friends.

United / there is little / we cannot do / in a host of cooperative ventures.

Divided / there is little / we can do -
/ for we dare not meet / a powerful challenge / at odds and split asunder.

To those new states / whom we welcome / to the ranks of the free , 

we pledge our word / that one form of colonial control / shall not have passed away /

merely to be replaced / by a far more iron tyranny.

We shall not always expect / to find them / supporting our view.

But we shall always hope / to find them / strongly supporting their own freedom -
/ and to remember that in the past , those who foolishly sought power
/ by riding the back of the tiger / ended up inside.

To those people / in the huts and villages
/ of half 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 the communists may be doing it , 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.

To our sister republics / south of our border , 
we offer a special pledge -
/ to convert our good words / into good deeds -
/ in a new alliance for progress -
/ to assist free men / and free governments / in casting off the chains of poverty.

But this peaceful revolution of hope
/ cannot become the prey / of hostile powers.

Let all our neighbors know / that we shall join with them
/ to oppose aggression or subversion / anywhere in the Americas.

And let every other power know / that this Hemisphere intends
to remain / the master of its own house.

To that world assembly / of sovereign states , 
the United Nations , our last best hope / in an age
where the instruments of war
/ have far outpaced / the instruments of peace , 
we renew our pledge of support - to prevent it / from becoming
merely a forum / for invective - to strengthen its shield /
of the new and the weak - and to enlarge the area / in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations / who would make themselves our adversary , 
we offer not a pledge / but a request / that both sides / begin anew the quest for peace , 
before the dark powers of destruction / unleashed by science / engulf all humanity
/ in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them / with weakness.

For only when our arms / are sufficient beyond doubt /
can we be certain beyond doubt / that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations /
take comfort from our present course - both sides overburdened
/ by the cost of modern weapons ,  both rightly alarmed /
by the steady spread of the deadly atom , 
yet both racing to alter / that uncertain balance of terror / that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew - remembering on both sides /
that civility is not a sign of weakness , and sincerity is always subject to proof.

Let us never negotiate / out of fear. But let us never fear / to negotiate.

Let both sides explore / what problems unite us / instead of belaboring those problems / which divide us.

Let both sides , for the first time , formulate serious and precise proposals
/for the inspection and control of arms -
and bring the absolute power / to destroy other nations / under the absolute control /  of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke / the wonders of science / instead of its terrors.
Together let us explore the stars , conquer the deserts , eradicate disease , tap the ocean depths / and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed / in all corners of the earth / the command of Isaiah
- to ”undo the heavy burdens.  and let the oppressed go free.”

And if a beachhead of cooperation / may push back the jungle of suspicion , 
let both sides join / in creating a new endeavor , not a new balance of power , 
but a new world of law , 
where the strong are just / and the weak secure / and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished / in the first one hundred days.

Nor will it be finished / in the first one thousand days , 
nor in the life / of this Administration , 
nor even perhaps in our lifetime / on this planet.
But let us begin.

In your hands , my fellow citizens , more than mine , will rest the final success
or failure / of our course.

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 shrink 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.

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.

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.

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.