I was updating Dragon NaturallySpeaking and was forced to say again these words of John F. Kennedy [View all]

[Akamai]

Last edited Mon Apr 17, 2017, 12:11 AM - Edit history (1)

This was in his inauguration of January 20, 1961

"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 forebears 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...."

If John F. Kennedy had not efused to allow American soldiers to come ashore in the the Bay of Pigs invasion, the missiles would have flown. The world would have ended. It did not work out an accommodation with the Russian submarines in the Cuban missile crisis, the world also would have ended. He was thoughtful, he was seasoned--having been in World War II--and he did not mind criticizing military leaders.

But now, we come to this play-president who does not understand the world as so many of us do, and danger is all around us.

I truly dislike people in the major media treating Trump as though he is knowledgeable about anything, and today, Fareed Zakaria praised him for good ideas in launching the Tomahawk missiles.

So he did not take a random step and has not planted his face on the ground (as far as we know). But the idea that he would even think he was capable of determining how to act in these most important circumstances is terrifying.