Im not a big fan of the literary sub-genre of political rhetoric, even the best examples of which usually reduce

to schmaltzy, self-aggrandizing propaganda. I nonetheless love the so-called Peace Speech given exactly 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy. Speaking at the commencement of American University, Washington, D.C., on June 10, 1963, Kennedy talked about the most important topic on earth: world peace.

Kennedy continued: 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 childrennot merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and womennot merely peace in our time but peace for all time. Yeah, thats peace all right. The high point of Kennedys speech, for me, was when he repudiated the notion that permanent peace is a utopian fantasy. Too many of us think [peace] is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitablethat mankind is doomedthat we are gripped by forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmadetherefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Mans reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvableand we believe they can do it again. Contrast Kennedys inspiring optimism with the dismal perspective offered by Barack Obama in 2009 when he accepted (irony of ironies) the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man, Obama stated. We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. Obama is implying that war is ancient, innate andfor the foreseeable futureinevitable. According to surveys Ive carried out for more than a decade now, most people favor Obamas pessimistic view of war over Kennedys upbeat outlook. When it comes to world peace, most people think pessimism is realistic, and optimism nave. But most people are wrong. Science supports Kennedys view and undercuts Obamas. Many prominent scientistsnotably Harvards Richard Wrangham, Steven Pinker and Edward Wilsonassert that the roots of war reach back not only to the beginning of our species, as Obama claimed, but even further, to the common ancestors that we share with chimpanzees. The evidence for this hypothesis is flimsy, to put it mildly. Overwhelmingly, evidence from archaeology and anthropology reveals that war is a

relatively recent (less than 13,000 years old) cultural invention, as anthropologist Margaret Mead put it, that culture can help us transcend. Kennedys statement that Our problems are manmadetherefore, they can be solved by man has been empirically validated. Talk, as Barack Obama has unfortunately demonstrated, is cheap. Kennedy backed up his rhetoric with actions. He announced that the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so. We will not be the first to resume. That was the end of atmospheric nuclear detonations by the U.S. and Soviet Union. Kennedy also urged young people in his audience to consider joining the Peace Corps, which he helped found in 1961. Finally, alluding to the struggle of blacks for civil rights, Kennedy acknowledged that peace without justice is hollow. In too many of our cities today, he said, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete. It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of governmentlocal, State, and Nationalto provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. The following day, Kennedy announced his administrations support for a strong new federal civilrights bill. We need leaders with this kind of inspiring vision today! Postscript: Several readers have pointed out that Kennedy wasnt exactly a pacifist. True enough. But compared to most recent Presidents, he looks pretty damn good, especially in the way that he appealed to the hopes rather than fears of Americans. Also, I just received the following email from Camille LePre of American University: We were delighted to see your insightful piece in Scientific American about JFKs peace speech at American University! If you havent already seen it, we have put together a web site about the Strategy of Peace speech, which includes articles, photos, videos, other artifacts from the time (1963 student newspaper coverage, White House typewritten text of the speech, speechwriter Ted Sorensons AU Commencement speech about the JFK AU Commencement speech, etc), and current reflections from a series events held at American University over the past few months. If you are so inclined, we invite you to link to this web site from your piece: