Joh'n F. Kennedy's Leadership Keeps its Shine of Optimism 50 Years Later

Sept. 28, 2010 - PRLog -- The USA Today  has just released a 48 page commemorative edition in honor of President John F. Kennedy, 50 years later.  It is noted that JFK has an incredibly positive presidential legacy for a presidency of such short tenure. Sixty-five historians surveyed by C-Span ranked him 6th in presidential leadership just above Thomas Jefferson.  Why?  The reason, in my opinion, is because Kennedy was a “beacon” of optimistic leadership for a new generation of Americans.

Charisma

Friend and foe alike said he had charisma.  For the first time, I began to understand the meaning of the word.

   * “For style and creating a mood of optimism and hope – Kennedy is as effective as any president the country has had in its history.” ~ Robert Dallek, Kennedy historian (USA Today, September 27, 2010, p.2).

Bask in The Light of John F. Kennedy Quotes

To highlight the “beacon” of optimistic leadership that JFK provided, I have decided to post 10 JFK quotes that clearly demonstrate the engaging and timeless power of his presidency.

1. He made the first peacetime request for Americans to give back and sacrifice for their country when he said:

   * “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

2. Kennedy realized that optimists embrace change when he said:

   * “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

3. As I said in a recent ‘bussterism,’ “Why do we still wish for fun and easy when we know challenging and hard are much more satisfying?”  Kennedy presaged me by 50 years when he said:

   * “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”

4. Optimists view life as “one continuous learning curve.”  Kennedy had this to say:

   * “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

5. Kennedy inspired us to “follow our passion” when he said:  

   * “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

6. In 1962, Kennedy called for Americans to walk 50 miles for fitness.  In the spring of 1963, four high school friends and I followed his directive and took a 50 mile hike from downtown Philadelphia to Valley Forge and back.

   * “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”

7. Kennedy preached that optimism trumped pessimism when he said:

   * “The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.”

8.  Kennedy knew that “optimism” is discomforting and “pessimism” is comforting.

   * “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”

9. He foresaw the coming unemployment crisis that is upon us now.  His solution still rings true.

   * “We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work.”

10. I think the Kennedy’s optimistic call for a new generation to grasp the new opportunities and be prepared for the associated risks and perils is the same call that can be made today to our “twenty-somethings.”

   * “We stand today on the edge of a new frontier - the frontier of the 1960's - a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils - a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.”

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