John F Kennedy’s Rice Stadium Moon Speech in 1962 provided an immensely kairotic message about the necessity of space discovery. During this time America was at battle with the Soviet Union for which nation was not only the most powerful but also the most technologically advanced.
The timing of this speech was so crucial because at that moment America needed to be completely on board with this “Space Race” and what it meant for the country as a whole. Kennedy emphasizes the importance of the timing when he states, “Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first”. America was built on, and extremely values, being revolutionary and the first to achieve tasks of great measure. Kennedy’s quote echoes that if America wants to be first, then right now is the time to come together and help achieve our goal. With the quote, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too”, Kennedy stresses that the timing of going to the moon is essential to preserve America’s need to be a national powerhouse. Being in the midst of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the timing of Kennedy’s speech was effective in gaining national support for space exploration.
I think this analysis gives a good insight into what was happening at the time and why the speech was given. It's fun to think about the fact that politically the US wanted to be so superior compared to other nations that the President had to make a speech convincing others that going to space was necessary. It's also interesting to think about what would have happened if the US didn't encourage space exploration. What would our political dynamic then look like? Overall, good analysis, but maybe you should explore where he gave the speech and what his tone was to see how those factors made the speech more or less effective.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the timing of this speech was extremely important. An excellent point is made that the american people needed to support NASA and the space race with Russia. They also needed to support technology in general. We needed more kids going into STEM fields so that the US could remain on top in technological advancement. This speech is tailored to urge students to enter STEM fields since it was given at Rice University. This was a very good analysis and it hit on many of the main points of the speech.
ReplyDeleteI like how you supported your statements with specific quotes from the text. By incorporating the quotes, it was interesting to see how the timing played such an important role in the speech. With JFK's strong diction, the audience feels the urgency and duty to support the exploration so that the US could be the first.
ReplyDelete