Remember and help America remember that the fellowship of human beings is more important than the fellowship of race and class and gender in a democratic society.
So much of the deep lingering sadness over President Kennedy's assassination is about the unfinished promise: unspoken speeches, unfulfilled hopes, the wondering about what might have been.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the grief surrounding JFK's assassination, emphasizing the lost potential and unrealized dreams associated with his leadership.
Marian Wright Edelman poignantly captures the deep sorrow experienced after the assassination of President Kennedy, suggesting that the sadness stems not only from the loss of a leader but from the myriad of possibilities that were cut short. The quote highlights the emotional weight of unfulfilled ambitions and the collective yearning for a future that could have been shaped by Kennedy's vision and leadership, creating a powerful sense of what was lost.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a memorial service reflecting on impactful leaders who faced untimely deaths.
More from Marian Wright Edelman
All quotes βFar less wealthy industrialized countries have committed to end child poverty, while the United States is sliding backwards. We can do better. We must demand that our leaders do better.
Dr. King used to say, 'I was sitting in the back of the bus, but my mind was always up front.' Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it. You aim high and you work very hard and now I think it's clear that you can be anything you want to.
The outside world told black kids when I was growing up that we weren't worth anything. But our parents said it wasn't so, and our churches and our schoolteachers said it wasn't so. They believed in us, and we, therefore, believed in ourselves.
I was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living - the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who will keep seeding and building transforming movements.
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Only armchair politicians are immune from committing mistakes. Errors are inherent in political action.
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I think that America's recovery of a global strategic view is an absolutely essential element of our foreign policy.
As soon as politicians start climbing up the ladder, they suddenly become kings. I don't know how it works, but what I do know is that republics came to the world to make sure that no one is more than anyone else. The pomp of office is like something left over from a feudal past: "You need a palace, red carpet, a lot of people behind you saying, 'Yes, sir.' I think all of that is awful."