13 Days Jfk Inaugural Speech

Somehow in the disagreements between humans, the power to end humankind was created and from such was born the threat of total annihilation of current society. These themes of armageddon and the dangers of atomic weapons are explored in the movie 13 Days. 13 Days is a movie about John F. Kennedy’s short presidency, and his part to play in the cold war, which was the infamous Cuban Missile Crises. What made the Cuban Missile Crises infamous and 13 Days suspensive was the situation in which John F. Kennedy had to operate under and his unique way of dealing with the problem. Through John F. Kennedy’s actions, he taught the world important new ideas of communication and war and helped shape the world as it is today.

Ideas about communication and

the way it was conducted was reinvented and restarted during the cold war by one President John F. Kennedy. It was first done in the 1960’s election where JFK became “the first ‘telegraphic candidate’”, adopting the new technology television (DNW 445).

This new way of speaking to the public enabled him to be elected president and plays a key role in dealing with the cuban missile crises. With the advent of color television, JFK’s inaugural speech was the first to be broadcasted in color, and in doing so would spread his ideas throughout the country to the American people. In JFK’s inaugural speech he uses nationalism and strength through peace to give power to the government and set up justification for American involvement and possible conflict in Latin America. Television helped amplify, JFK’s words, creating the famous quote “ask not what you country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country”(Inaugural 4). It also communicates Kennedy’s character as a person who wants peace, but an eagle who isn’t afraid to fight. JFK’s character is shown in his statement, “Let us never negotiate out of fear, But let us never fear to negotiate” (Inaugural 3). This character is also reflected in the movie 13 Days. Even though John F. Kennedy is not depicted as a confident person, in the end he stands up to Russian aggression and continues to negotiate and de-escalate the Cuban missile crisis. Throughout all his decisions in the movie, Kennedy uses the papers by leaking information to

further his agenda. JFK also uses television to broadcast American and Russian intentions to put pressure on his political opponents and achieve his goals of keeping peace. This type of communication is well placed in the movie, behind Kennedy’s more observable actions of communicating through weapons and military maneuvering. Now looking at the communication of military maneuvering, it shows the idea of having military might to communicate the intentions between countries. It also reinforces the threat of mutually assured destruction, as a deterrent for war. These new ideas of communication has lead to important conflicts such as North Korea, but in the process gave America a new language to communicate to others. It allowed a type of direct contact, bypassing diplomatic factors that prevent physical communications between diplomats and people.
The nature of war was also changed by John F.

Kennedy. One of the great things about the movie was they way it conveyed tension. Besides the acting, tension was conveyed through the threat of a nuclear war and how certain actions could and could not have been taken. The amount of time also played a critical role in pressuring JFK to action. It is in these moments of tension that shows how war has changed. Although Nuclear weapons and new technologies have already changed the war in many ways, Kennedy has his own contributions to the changing face of war. JFK has alluded to the parallels of pre-world war generals to the world wars to their current situation, and in doing so recognizes that this war has new rules. John F. Kennedy writes these new rules in the movie by denying the existence of american citizens and manipulating information. These actions forged a new path in which countries waged war, not by weapons, but by information. If weapons by countries were enough to destroy the world, then it is only information of whether countries can destroy the other country, while protecting itself that becomes important. John F. Kennedy’s actions of blockading and diplomatic actions show his war interests of keeping the American citizens safe. This allows the USSR to communicate its intentions of the war and rewrites the rules of engagement. His willful decision to not get retribution by attacking the sam site is another example of these new rules, in which certain acts or the

old acts of engagement in World War Two may lead to a slippery slope of events to a nuclear war. Throughout the movie war is depicted through the minds of people, and weapons are used to convey their actions. JFK created a war of minds where the war was fought using the knowledge of generals, attorneys, educated men, women, and words. Again, Kennedy’s changes to the approach of war can be seen in the North Korean situation today. Modern war has been shaped by the influences of Kennedy’s actions in office and his changes to war in general.
Many current events and way of life have been shaped by President John F. Kennedy, as modern diplomatic communication and conduct of war just wouldn’t be the same without him. 13 Days gives an insight and a possible solution to many similar conflicts. This new path forged by Kennedy has given mankind new tools to deal with these new powers acquired by science. It also shows the Cold War as a conflict of countries at a loss of how to use the newfound powers of atomic energy and its resolution was how mankind could live with it. The Cold War also changed the nature of conflict in the United States, forcing America to always show strength and molding the future generations to be less compromising both in domestic and international politics. 13 Days is a good historical lesson showing how certain aspects of modern society came to be. Many situations faced in modern society have been molded by history, and at the same time the solutions to many of the situations can be found by learning and resolving the problems faced in history. John F. Kennedy also shows that it also takes good communication to resolve conflicts and solve seemingly large and impossible situations.