most here did not hear this speech at the time nor live through the kennedy years. i was only halfgrown myself when he was shot. jwhop was a little older...this is part of his inauguration speech - i know there were plenty who thought HE was a wimp when it came to foreign policy in many ways! despite being a war hero...
i post it because it echoes obama's stated approach, and was greeted with almost as much enthusiasm by the old guard of the day.
"But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides over-burdened 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.
if we were "overburdened by" the cost of the arms race then, why do so many people want us to stockpile more and more?
why is it STILL considered "traitorous" to work out international problems diplomatically and with an eye to a win/win solution?