A Strategy of Peace (American University Commencement)
Delivered at American University in Washington D.C. on June 10, 1963, calling for a reexamination of Cold War attitudes and initiating nuclear test ban negotiations with the USSR.
Full Transcript
President Anderson, members of the faculty, board of trustees, distinguished guests, my old colleague, Senator Bob Byrd, and graduates:
I have chosen this time and place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived—yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living.
No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can—if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers—offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.
For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.
Defining Key Excerpts
"For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."
"What kind of peace do I mean? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war."
Bring this Speech to your Wall
Get this historic speech professionally typeset, printed on structured canvas, and delivered in a solid wood frame.