[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             40TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S DEATH

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                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, ``A nation reveals itself not only by [the 
individuals] it produces, but also by [those] it honors, [those] it 
remembers.''
  President John F. Kennedy spoke these words 40 years ago, less than a 
month before he was tragically killed in Dallas. On the 40th 
anniversary of that sad month, which lives so vividly in our memory, 
America honors and remembers President Kennedy. In doing so, we reveal 
once more the nation he imagined and the country we might yet become.
  Like a generation of Americans, I carry with me strong memories of 
President Kennedy. As a college student standing on the grounds of the 
Capitol on a freezing cold January day, I listened to President 
Kennedy's enduring challenge now known the world over: ``And so, my 
fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what 
you can do for your country.''
  And I have always remembered the less well-known--but equally 
important--line that followed: ``My fellow citizens of the world: ask 
not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the 
freedom of mankind.''
  Those of us who lived through those awful November days 40 years ago 
will always remember the shock and never forget the sadness.
  Yet on this anniversary we recall not how President Kennedy died, but 
rather, how he lived; not just the tragedy of a single day, but the 
triumphs of one thousand days--of a presidency and a President that 
guides us still.
  The first American President born of the 20th Century, President 
Kennedy embodied the hopes, the optimism, the vigor and the vitality of 
a new generation of Americans. Inspired by his call to cross a New 
Frontier, America began a bold journey that would take us to the moon. 
Young, idealistic Americans entered public service and joined the Peace 
Corps. Courageous African-Americans became Freedom Riders, challenging 
the evils of segregation and leading to the greatest demonstration for 
justice in American history--the 1963 March on Washington.
  A veteran of World War II, President Kennedy knew that in those 
dangerous days of the Cold War, military strength was essential, yet 
``war need not be inevitable.'' Through the crisis over Berlin and 13 
days in October 1962, his resolve averted the unthinkable. And through 
it all he knew something we must never forget--America stands strongest 
when it stands with friends and allies.
  Yet this Cold Warrior also knew that true and lasting peace demands 
the elimination of the fury of despair and instability that plagues too 
much of the world. President Kennedy's vision of a future where ``the 
weak are safe and the strong are just'' inspired those young Peace 
Corps volunteers to build a better world--combating poverty, 
illiteracy, disease and hunger.
  A man of deep faith, President Kennedy knew that ``here on earth 
God's work must truly be our own.'' And so this man of privilege 
challenged the nation to reject private comfort for the public interest 
to fight for higher wages for workers, housing and medical care for the 
poor, dignity and security for the elderly. And although he did not 
live to see the day, his vision of a more just America would come 
closer with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  Ever since his death, Americans have wondered--how might the days and 
years that followed have been different had he lived? Perhaps the more 
important questions might be--have we lived up to the challenge he 
issued so long ago? Have we kept alive the spirit and high purpose that 
he kindled? Have we achieved the national greatness that he imagined?
  Forty years later, President Kennedy challenges us still. As we 
remember his death, let us rededicate ourselves--as a people, as a 
nation--to the principles and vision that defined his life. On this 
somber anniversary, there can be no higher tribute.

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