BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE

BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE

Of those whom much is given, much is required, and when
at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each
of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our
responsibilities to the state, our success or failure in whatever office
we hold will be measured by the answers to four questions:


First, were we truly men of courage, with the courage to
stand up to one's enemies, and the courage to stand up, when
necessary, to one's associates? The courage to resist public
pressure as well as private greed?


Second, were we truly men of judgment, with perceptive
judgment of the future as well as the past, of our own mistakes
as well as the mistakes of others, with enough wisdom to know
what we did not know, and enough candor to admit it?


Third, were we truly men of integrity? Men who never
ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the people
who believed in us. Men whom neither financial gain nor political
ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust.


Finally, were we truly men of dedication, with an honor
mortgaged not to a single individual or group, and compromised by
no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public
good and the national interest?


Courage, judgment, integrity, dedication: These are the qualities
which, with Gods help, this son of Massachusetts hopes will characterize
our government's conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead. Humbly
I ask His help in this undertaking, but aware that on earth His Will is
worked by men, I ask for your help and your prayers as I embark on this
new and solemn journey.


(President-elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy, segment of his speech given
to the Massachusetts House of Legislature, January 9, 1961 . . . .
LINK….audio of complete speech available for you here)