Ronald Reagan's Address To The Kennedy Library Foundation

In his eloquent and moving tribute at a fundraising event for the Kennedy Library Foundation, Ronald Reagan described the sensational man that John F Kennedy was and the legacy that followed him. The event at which the speech was given was held under the premise of raising money to further support the presidential library, but Reagan made it a priority to recognize the admirable and important contributions Kennedy made to the entire world and pay tribute to a great figure in history. He prioritized recognizing Kennedy’s character, actions, and impact that the audience will relate to and understand. His audience was the possible donors to the fund so it was important that they were aware what Kennedy stood for and contributed to society if they

His reverent tone is woven through the entirety of his tribute in the way that he presents Kennedy to the audience as someone deserving of honor and respect. Using tone words throughout his speech helps the audience connect to what Reagan is saying and allows them to better understand what exactly is being said. Reagan respects him as a leader and says how “it is a matter of pride to me that so many men and women who were inspired by his bracing vision and moved by his call to ‘ask not’ serve now in the White House doing the business of the government.”(Reagan, 6). Since Reagan consistently used positive and admiring words when speaking about Kennedy, the audience would have also seen to respect Kennedy and his contributions to the nation because as the president, Reagan was seen as a credible source. Reagan also includes that he did not support Kennedy’s campaign at the time, but hindsight allowed him to realize how respectable Kennedy’s passionate and influential time his time in office was. This gives Kennedy even more credibility and respect because even though Reagan supported a different political party than Kennedy, he was sill able to recognize in front of the public that Kennedy’s “political fights were tough”, “he gave as good as he got, and you could see that he loved the battle” (Reagan, 8). Respect comes from admirable actions and ideas rather than simply aligning beliefs. In his concluding remarks, Raegan asserts that “Many men are great, but few capture the imagination of the spirit of the times. The ones that do are unforgettable” (Reagan, 11) before going on to say that the five presidents since Kennedy have thought of Kennedy throughout their own presidency, implying the deep seeded respect that Kennedy