Robert F. Kennedy's remarks at the University of Kansas were given on March 18, 1968. He talked about student protests, the Vietnam War, and gross national product. At that time, Kennedy's words on the last subject were relatively unnoticed, but from then on they became famous.
Video Robert F. Kennedy's remarks at the University of Kansas
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Kennedy had given his first campaign speech that morning at Kansas State University before flying to Lawrence Municipal Airport to give his speech at the University of Kansas. Class canceled before Kennedy appearance.
Maps Robert F. Kennedy's remarks at the University of Kansas
Speech
The speech was delivered at 1:30 pm at Phog Allen Fieldhouse before 20,000 people. The arena itself exceeds capacity; the school has only 16,000 students enrolled, and many sit on the basketball court, leaving little open space around the podium in the middle.
Shortly before the speech, Kennedy warned the student union, "Some of you may not like what you'll hear in a few minutes, but that's what I believe, and if I'm elected president, that's what I'll do..."
Summary
Most of Kennedy's speeches were given spontaneously, with the phrases of older speeches linking together parts of his lectures at KSU. He started with the subject of the Vietnam War, calling for an end to the bombing campaign and negotiations with the Viet Cong.
Regarding the issue of student protests, he quoted William Allen White (a university alumni), as he said in a previous speech:
These words shocked many members of the audience.
He went on to poverty, expressing his own horror at the conditions facing poor Americans:
He continued, borrowing the image from Michael Harrington's book, The Other America :
Kennedy primarily outlines why he considers gross national product a measure of inadequate success. He emphasized the negotiable and positive negative values ​​he ignored:
Towards the end of his speech, he quotes George Bernard Shaw:
These words will be at the center of Kennedy's presidential campaign, and he will repeat them on several occasions.
Kennedy was interrupted 38 times during a speech to applause.
Aftermath
Kennedy took 15 minutes to get out of the arena to his car. He then departed with a flight to Washington, DC. Jim Tolan's campaign staff will then say admission, "This is the first time I'm afraid of [Kennedy] Those kids are out of control He could have gotten hurt they loved him."
Legacy
At the time, Kennedy's criticism of the gross national product did not receive much attention, although since then became notorious, received significant coverage in the writings of economic critics. His words are credited as the beginning of the Beyond GDP movement. In an interview in 2008, Barack Obama said that the oration of Kennedy University in Kansas was "one of the most beautiful speeches."
Note
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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