dial英语演讲稿-美国20世纪最伟大的演讲48John F. Kennedy

2021年1月21日发(作者：毕竟英语)
英语演讲稿


美国
20
世纪最伟大的演讲
48John F.
Kennedy


John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights Address
Delivered 11 June 1963
Good evening, my fellow citizens:
This
afternoon,
following
a
series
of
threats
and
defiant
statements,
the
presence
of
Alabama
National
Guardsmen
was
required
on
the
University
of
Alabama
to
carry
out
the
final
and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of
the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the
admission
of
two
clearly
qualified
young
Alabama
residents
who
happened to have been born Negro. That they were admitted
peacefully
on
the
campus
is
due
in
good
measure
to
the
conduct
of the students of the University of Alabama, who met their
responsibilities in a constructive way.
I
hope
that
every
American,
regardless
of
where
he
lives,
will stop and examine his
conscience
about
this
and
other
related
incidents.
This
Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It
was founded on the principle that all men are created equal,
and
that
the
rights
of
every
man
are
diminished
when
the
rights
of one man are threatened.
Today,
we
are
committed
to
a
worldwide
struggle
to
promote
and
protect
the
rights
of
all
who
wish
to
be
free.
And
when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not
ask for whites only. It ought a be possible, therefore, for
American
students
of
any
color
to
attend
any
public
institution
they
select
without
having
to
be
backed
up
by
troops.
It
ought
a
to
be
possible
for
American
consumers
of
any
color
to
receive
equal
service
in
places
of
public
accommodation,
such
as
hotels
and
restaurants
and
theaters
and
retail
stores,
without
being
forced
to
resort
to
demonstrations
in
the
street,
and
it
ought
a be possible for American citizens of any color to register
and to vote in a free election without interference or fear
of reprisal. It ought a to be possible, in short, for every
American to enjoy the privileges of being American without
regard to his race or his color.
In short, every American ought to have the right to be
treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his
children to be treated. But this is not the case.
The Negro baby
born in America today, regardless of the
section of the State in which he is born, has about one half
as
much
chance
of
completing
a
high
school
as
a
white
baby
born
in the same place on the same day, one third as much chance
of completing college, one third as much chance of becoming
a
professional
man,
twice
as
much
chance
of
becoming
unemployed,
about one seventh as much chance of earning $$10,000 a year,
a life expectancy which is 7 years shorter, and the prospects
of earning only half as much.
This
is
not
a
sectional
issue.
Difficulties
over
segregation and discrimination exist in every city,in every
State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of
discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a
partisan issue. In a time of domestic crisis men of good will
and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or
politics.
This
is
not
even
a
legal
or
legislative
issue
alone.
It
is
better
to
settle
these
matters
in
the
courts
than
on
the
streets,and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone
cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with
a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear
as the American Constitution.
The heart of the question is whether all Americans are
to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether
we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be
treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat
lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send
his
children
to
the
best
public
school
available,
if
he
cannot
vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in
short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us
want, then who among us would be content to have the color of
his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would
then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?
One hundred years of delay have passed since President
Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons,
are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of
injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic
oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its
boasts,
will
not
be
fully
free
until
all
its
citizens
are
free.
We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and
we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the
world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is
the land of the free except for the Negroes? that we have no
second class citizens except Negroes? that we have no class
or
caste
system,
no
ghettoes,
no
master
race
except
with
respect to Negroes?
Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its
promise.
The
events
in
Birmingham
and
elsewhere
have
so
increased the cries for equality that no city or State or
legislative
body
can
prudently
choose
to
ignore
them.
The
fires
of
frustration
and
discord
are
burning
in
every
city,North
and
South,
where
legal
remedies
are
not
at
hand.
Redress
is
sought
in
the
streets,
in
demonstrations,
parades,
and
protests
which
create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives.
We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and a
people.
It
cannot
be
met
by
repressive
police
action.
It
cannot
be left
to increased demonstrations in the
streets. It cannot
be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act in the
Congress, in your
State and local legislative body and, above
all, in all of our daily lives. It is not enough to pin the
blame on others, to say this a problem of one section of the
country or another, or deplore the facts that we face.A great
change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make
that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for
all.
Those
who
do
nothing
are
inviting
shame,
as
well
as
violence. Those who act boldly are
recognizing
right, as well
as reality.