#1 Genuine 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,
Genuine Peace,
The kind that enables people and nations to grow,
And to hope,
And to build a better life for their children—
Not merely peace for Americans,
But peace for all people –
Not merely peace in our time,
But Peace For All Time.
#2 I Speak of Peace
I speak of peace
Because of the new face of war. –
Total war makes no sense,
In an age when deadly poisons
Produced by a nuclear exchange
Would be carried by wind and water,
And soil and seed,
To the far corners of the globe,
And to generations yet unborn.
Billions of dollars for idle stockpiles—
Which can only destroy and never create—
Is not the only, much less the most efficient,
Means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace,
As the necessary rational end
Of rational men.
And we have no more urgent task.
#3 Looking Inward
And every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war,
And wishes to bring peace,
Should begin by looking inward
By examining our own attitude
Toward the possibilities of peace,
And toward peace and freedom here at home.
Too many think it’s impossible.
Too many think it unreal.
But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief.
It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable—
That mankind is doomed—
That we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view.
Our problems are manmade--
Therefore, they can be solved by man.
No problem of human destiny
Is beyond human beings.
Man's reason and spirit have often solved
The seemingly unsolvable—
And we believe they can do it again.
We can do it again!
#4 A Practical, Attainable Peace
Let us focus on a practical, attainable peace--
Not a sudden revolution in human nature,
But a gradual evolution in our institutions—
On concrete actions and effective agreements,
In the interest of all concerned.
Genuine peace must be the product of many nations,
The sum of many acts, dynamic, not static,
Changing to meet the challenge of each new generation.
For peace is a process -- a way of solving problems.
There will still be quarrels and conflicting interests,
As there are within families and nations.
World peace does not require that each man love his neighbor—
Only that they live together, in mutual tolerance,
Submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.
Let us focus on a practical, attainable peace.
#5 The Heaviest Burdens
It is sad to realize the extent of the gulf between us.
It is also a warning— To the American people
Not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets,
Not to see only a distorted and desperate view
Of the other side,
Not to see conflict as inevitable,
Accommodation as impossible,
And communication as nothing more
Than an exchange of threats.
The two strongest powers are most in danger of devastation.
Even in the cold war,
Which brings burdens and dangers
To so many nations,
Our two countries bear the heaviest burdens.
For we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons
That could be better devoted
To combating ignorance, poverty, and disease.
We are both caught up
In a vicious and dangerous cycle –
Suspicion breeds suspicion,
And weapons beget weapons.
We have a mutually deep interest
In a just and genuine peace,
And in halting the arms race.
So let us not be blind to our differences—
But let us also see our common interests
And the means by which
Those differences can be resolved.
And if we cannot end now our differences,
At least we can help make the world
Safe for diversity.
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.
#6 We Must Persevere
We must persevere in the search for peace
In the hope that constructive changes
Might bring within reach solutions
Which now seem beyond us.
Above all, while defending our own vital interests,
Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations
Which bring an adversary to a choice
Of either a humiliating retreat, or a nuclear war.
To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age
Would be evidence only of the bankruptcy
Of our policy—
Or a collective death wish for the world.
We can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard.
We do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute.
Our interests converge in pursuing the paths of peace.
If all nations could refrain from interfering
In the self-determination of others,
The peace would be much more assured.
This will require a new effort to achieve world law—
A new context for world discussions.
Increased understanding between the Soviets and ourselves,
Increased contact and communication
To avoid the dangerous delays,
Misunderstandings, and misreadings
Of the other's actions,
Which might occur at a time of crisis.
Building new institutions of peace,
To take the place of arms,
Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history.
But with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
Finally, my fellow Americans,
Let us examine our attitude
Toward peace and freedom here at home.
The quality and spirit of our own society
Must justify and support our efforts abroad.
We must show it in the dedication of our own lives.
#7 Peace and Freedom Walk Together
Peace and freedom walk together.
And is not peace a matter of human rights?
The right to live out our lives without fear of devastation,
The right to breathe air as nature provided it,
And the right of future generations to a healthy existence.
While we safeguard our national interests,
Let us safeguard human interests too.
The elimination of war and arms
Is clearly in the interest of both.
This generation of Americans has already had enough—
More than enough—
Of war and hate and oppression.
We shall be prepared if others wish it.
We shall be alert to try to stop it.
But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace,
Where the weak are safe, and the strong are just.
We are not helpless before that task,
Or hopeless of its success.
Confident and unafraid, we labor on—
Not toward a strategy of annihilation,
But toward a strategy of peace.
#8 So Let Us Persevere
So let us persevere.
Peace need not be impracticable,
And war need not be inevitable.
By defining our goal more clearly,
We can help all peoples to see it,
To draw hope from it,
And to move irresistibly toward it.
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.
Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history.
But with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
With our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
#9 Peace For All Time
I am talking about Genuine Peace,
The kind of peace
That makes life on Earth worth living,
Genuine Peace,
The kind that enables people and nations to grow,
And to hope,
And to build a better life for their children—
Not only* peace for Americans,
But peace for all people.
Not only* peace in our time,
But Peace For All Time.
* "merely" in the original