Our political system is broken because, for a Democracy to be
effective, it cannot be left to a mere
handful of professional politicians.
Jefferson was right: A real
democracy also requires healthy, free
and independent citizens.
In
his Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 , President John F. Kennedy hinted at what this new
citizen must look like. There he said:
"Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to
bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we
are-- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and
year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle
against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.
"Can we forge against these enemies a grand and
global alliance, North and South, East and West that can assure a more fruitful
life for all mankind? Will you join in that
historic effort?
--.The energy, the faith, the devotion which we
bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the
glow from that fire can truly light the world.
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your
country can do for you- -ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not
what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of
man""
President Kennedy was calling for a different kind of action. He was calling for what I have begun to call
"True Service."
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