Message from Art Milnes: Today's the anniversary of the delivery of one of the most famous political speeches in Canadian history. I am speaking, of course, of the address to Canada's Parliament by US President John F. Kennedy on May 17, 1961. (Listen to President Kennedy's speech in Ottawa at this link.)And, the marking JFK's Ottawa visit allows me to introduce a new, occasional feature that will be appearing on “Art's History.” So today is my first-ever Guest poster. David Lockhart, a veteran Canadian speechwriter, has graciously provided commentary on the JFK speech. It was not a hard sell on my part as Jack Kennedy is one of David's heroes. Over to you David and thanks for joining “Art's History” today.
By David Lockhart, Guest Contributor for Art's History.In the spring of 1961, President John F. Kennedy came north. It had been just four months since his masterful inaugural address, so expectations were high when he rose in the House of Commons to address Parliament. Kennedy didn't disappoint.With humour and teasing he flattered his audience, identifying with them as a fellow legislator who had spent a third of his life in his own country's parliament – the United States Congress.Then, in a crisp cadence, with stately sentences, he set out our mutual concerns: the rising threat of communism; the importance of Latin America; the centrality of NATO; extending freedom's writ to less developed nations and defending liberty wherever it might be imperilled.But there was one passage that, fifty years later, remains the most fondly remembered and frequently quoted. Describing the Canada-United States relationship, Kennedy said, “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”To Canadians who fretted about how (or if) Americans thought about us, it was a tonic. And to Canadian speechwriters, it was the gift that keeps on giving.If, as long-time political strategist Robert Shrum has said, “one of the measures of greatness in a president is not just what bills he or she signs, but whether they contribute to the enlargement of (our) vision of (ourselves)” then Kennedy demonstrated greatness to Canadians. Offering us a sense of the role we could play, and the responsibilities we carried, at that fraught moment in history.[caption id="attachment_558338" align="aligncenter" width="400"] President John Kennedy addresses Canada's Parliament[/caption]David Lockhart is an Ottawa-based speechwriter who has written for former Prime Ministers John Turner and Paul Martin as well as dozens of cabinet ministers and corporate executives. With sufficient encouragement he has been known to recite JFK's inaugural address.------