JFK's Inagural Speech

John F. Kennedy demonstrates wisdom as a commander in chief when he uses the paradox "For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be cetain beyond doubt that they will never be employed" (13). He is telling the United States that he knows how important it is to have a strong military, but also that he knows how undesirable it is to involve the country in a war. By displaying this knowledge to America, Kennedy is already qualifying himself to lead them when times call for rational decision making. He also demonstrates wisdom in another paradox when he says "We observe today, not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom" (2). Kennedy minimizes the importance of individual parties and illustrates the United States' desire for freedom, no matter the leader. He emphasizes that the real celebration is in the fact that they have the freedom to vote for their own leader at all. He pulls himself above the trivial matter of republicans vs. democrats and unifies the Americans under a common cause.