The other day I went looking for a quote from a civil rights speech that John Kennedy had given during a critical moment of American history, as the National Guard was called out to escort two black students enrolling at the University of Alabama. I found the passage I wanted and then went ahead and read the entire speech. It was fairly stunning.

Consider some of the following excerpts:

I hope that every American, regardless of where he lives, will stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents.

We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.