{"id":20107,"date":"2023-12-18T08:47:38","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T08:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/?p=20107"},"modified":"2023-12-22T20:55:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T20:55:44","slug":"jfks-peace-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/jfks-peace-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"JFK\u2019s \u201cPeace Speech\u201d: Building Bridges, Not Burning Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>TLDR: <\/b>In his commencement speech to the American University, Kennedy delivered a message of peace not only to attendees but also to the Soviets and the world. He identified a shared desire for peace and used inclusive language to promote an ideal where the American and Soviet people could co-exist peacefully.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>So What? <\/b>Audiences expect a level of consideration and respect; part of that is honesty. In communication, you can extend your understanding to your audience, but if you can\u2019t maintain your values, whether as an individual or a brand, they will see right through it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delivered on June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy\u2019s so-called \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jfklibrary.org\/archives\/other-resources\/john-f-kennedy-speeches\/american-university-19630610\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peace Speech<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d signaled a shift in American attitudes towards the Cold War. After years of escalating tensions, including the terrifying Cuban Missile Crisis the previous year, many on both sides sought a way to stand down from the brink of war.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this speech, Kennedy works towards peace by using communication techniques that readers of this blog will find familiar \u2013 namely, using everyday language and identification to build a rapport with the listener. This common ground is key to Kennedy\u2019s effectiveness as a communicator, and provided a way for both sides to cool off the tension of the Cold War.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0fkKnfk4k40?si=JI805Yg2lgHedTjC\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" frameborder=\"&quot;\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Using Peace to Disarm Hostility<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peace can be a challenging topic during times of hostility. When fear and paranoia rule the common discourse, communicators might struggle to help people find a common ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fortunately, Kennedy was willing to take a step back, rhetorically, to speak to the higher purpose of peace:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived&#8211;yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children&#8211;not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women&#8211;not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, Kennedy offers a powerful olive branch: the denial of \u201cPax Americana,\u201d or American domination of the world. (A powerful lesson for many politicians today!)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In doing so, he seeks to assure his counterparts in the Soviet Union that there is another path forward and that he would seek it. This path is one where both countries can co-exist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then he puts a finer point on it:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSome say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament&#8211;and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our attitude&#8211;as individuals and as a Nation&#8211;for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward&#8211;by examining his attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the Cold War and freedom and peace here at home.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kennedy does not point the finger at the Soviet Union, he points the finger at the nation, challenging his listeners to examine <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">their <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attitudes, and to nurture <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">their <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">desire to bring about peace. It was a brave message for a politician to deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most politicians take the easy way out: dividing the world into \u201cus\u201d vs. \u201cthem,\u201d and assuring their followers that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">we <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are the good guys, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are the bad guys. Kennedy turns this trope on its head, asking American citizens to turn their gaze inward, to examine their true intentions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only when enough of us desire peace, he says, will peace be possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Developing a Shared Purpose<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20109\" src=\"http:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/2.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"JFK's portrait\" width=\"351\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/2.jpeg.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/2.jpeg-248x300.jpg 248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kennedy connected Americans and Soviets through a shared commitment to peace. He says:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements&#8211;in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. And no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union suffered in the course of the Second World War.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of feeding the flames of mutual distrust, Kennedy focuses on the shared desire for peace. While acknowledging that the Soviet Union has flaws, he also points out their achievements \u2013 and finds common ground in our mutual desire for peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This call is something we can all recognize and use in our daily communication\u2013the realization that we have the power to either burn bridges, or to build them. When we build bridges, even with those whom we find difficult, we build a better world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kennedy punctuates this idea with the following statement:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom but in pursuing the paths of peace. It is our hope&#8211; and the purpose of allied policies&#8211;to convince the Soviet Union that she, too, should let each nation choose its future, so long as that choice does not interfere with the choices of others. The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is today&#8217;s primary cause of world tension. For there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here, Kennedy continues articulating shared values, while reminding listeners that global communism was working to destabilize other nations as part of an international program. Walking this tightrope was Kennedy\u2019s daily job.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Build Bridges, Don\u2019t Burn Them<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s this balance of honesty and relationship-building where Kennedy demonstrates his mastery of communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While acknowledging the shared tension between the US and the USSR, he also pushes for a shared commitment to peace between the two countries, starting with every American citizen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it\u2019s so easy to burn bridges in our communication, Kennedy showed that it\u2019s much better to build them.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you need help crafting an authentic message that resonates powerfully with your target audience, Media Shower knows how to help. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/content-marketing-plan-template\/?__mscta=2964_97575_162\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketers, meet your master plan.<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/content-marketing-plan-template\/?__mscta=2964_97575_162\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19063 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/3-1.png\" alt=\"marketers meet your master plan cta\" width=\"680\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/3-1.png 680w, https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/3-1-300x106.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn what Kennedy\u2019s \u201cPeace Speech\u201d tells us about building bridges and staying true to our values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":20108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[459],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20107"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20112,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20107\/revisions\/20112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}