Skip to main content

JFK

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich" (JFK).


In this quote, JFK is demonstrating his administration's commitment to helping the poverty-stricken groups around the world. This statement is preceded by his declaration that the U.S. will do so not because it is trying to win their votes or because the communists are doing the same, but because it is the right thing to do. Simply put, in this quotation, JFK is outlining the priorities of his administration.

I chose this quotes because I agree with it. The welfare of the rich and the poor is connected as ignoring the needs of the poor will not and cannot preserve the welfare of the rich. A body cannot heal when one of its organs is failing, yet, it is clear, given the current direction of politics, that our political leaders do not understand this. Time and again they make decisions that adversely affect the poor and it is clear evidence that they no longer hold the same priorities as JFK did. We, as a society, seem to keep forgetting that ignoring the poor and solely focusing our resources on the rich will not and cannot solve our problems. If poverty is ignored and is allowed to grow, it will, without a doubt, affect the rich as well, not that that's the only reason we should be helping the poverty-stricken members of our society.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July?

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour" (Douglass). In this quote, Fredrick Douglass, while addressing the crowd gathered to celebrate the independence of the U.S, e...

The Federalist #51

“It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.” (Madison, Federalist #51). In this quote, Madison explains the necessity of forming a government that is not only strong enough to govern the people but also strong enough to keep its own powers in check. He insists that it is important to understand that man i...

Nation of Immigrants

“Most of the federal Constitution builds on state constitutional ideas and practices. Naturalized citizens are allowed to lead every state; the rules for the presidency should follow suit. Ultimately, America should be more than a land where every child can one day grow up to become … governor” (Amar). In this passage, the author is arguing that the federal Constitution is an extension of the constitutional ideas and practices of the states and if a naturalized citizen can run and get elected to the highest offices of every state, then the same logic should follow for the presidency. He argues that it’s about time that America afford the same opportunities to the naturalized citizens as it does to natural born citizens. I chose this specific quote to discuss because as a naturalized citizen of the United States, who hopes to pursue a career in public service, I find it very problematic that under the current Constitution, someone like me can never be elected to the highest office o...