"Ask not what your country can do for you...

[Bay Area]

but what you can do for your country"

The world famous and praised quote from JFK. It was used in the context of fighting enemies of democracy, but has since been applied to the general relationship between citizens and a country.

I've personally never understood it. Why shouldn't a tax paying citizen ask what his country can do for him? Taxes are deducted from paychecks every two weeks. So I think citizens have a right to know what the country is going to do for them in return. Further, I feel the country (ie elected officials) are supposed to be the ones making sacrifices, working for our benefit, and making our lives easier. Not the other way around. The citizens are the superior, and if the country is not showing any returns, then they have the duty to make the necessary modifications.

So what say you. Agree with the quote in a general sense, or disagree.

 

[Graves The Elder]

Walnut Creek in the house.
totally agree.
the money we earn is OUR money.
if you tax it, better show us you spend it efficiently.

politicians work for the public, we don't work for them.
the whole system has gotten so entrenched in special interest nepotism
that common sense has been thrown out the window.

Libertarian at heart, small gubment is best.

 

[Zankou]

That was some straight up fascist rhetoric from JFK there.

 

[Graves The Elder]

liberal dem, what do you expect
barry has basically said the same thing

maybe he should vacation in dallas

 

[zulqarnayn]

A government working for the interest of it's citizens. That's a paradox. This never happened and never will; it's simply an illusion.

 

[spin]

It was a rally cry for a certain moment in time. I suspect similar sentiments are shared to soldiers before heading into battle.

Just seems like a call for sacrifice in a time of need

I consider it nothing more than that

 

[ripskater]

The new mantra is "spread the wealth around, you didn't earn that, someone helped you along the way."

 

[Graves The Elder]

ppl had already volunteered for service and sacrificed their lives many times over in
wars leading up to that statement.

it was a preemptive entreaty, cloaked in faux nationalism, to young ppl to get ready
for viet nam.

50K dead for nothing.
yep, their country didn't do shit for them.
they did (died) it all.

 

[Bay Area]

It was a rally cry for a certain moment in time. I suspect similar sentiments are shared to soldiers before heading into battle.

Just seems like a call for sacrifice in a time of need

I consider it nothing more than that

OK. However the quote has moved from beyond that time period. People use it as a counter to what they feel is present day entitlement culture.

 

[Bay Area]

ppl had already volunteered for service and sacrificed their lives many times over in
wars leading up to that statement.

it was a preemptive entreaty, cloaked in faux nationalism, to young ppl to get ready
for viet nam.

50K dead for nothing.
yep, their country didn't do shit for them.
they did (died) it all.

Completely and utterly used. Chewed up and spit out.

 

[spin]

OK. However the quote has moved from beyond that time period. People use it as a counter to what they feel is present day entitlement culture.

So? I'm right and other people are wrong all the time

 

[Liquid Smoke]

I prefer to ask what my country can do for me.

 

[grimballer]

Well gotta look at it from both perspectives

1. Fascism: grater good > individual

2. Opportunity: ths reason an individual has a good life in a good country is the sacrifices of those before him n to maintain that standard of living an individual should be ready to make sacrifices as well.

 

[Graves The Elder]

Completely and utterly used. Chewed up and spit out.

and it continues..

"no boots on the ground"

 

[drstrangelov]

The bell of the Gion Temple tolls into every man's heart to warn him that all is vanity and evanescence. The faded flowers of the sala trees by the Buddha's deathbed bear witness to the truth that all who flourish are destined to decay.

 

[IDL]

Ask not what I can do for you, ask what you can do for me and my friends

From a politicians perspective, that's what they are saying. From a citizens perspective there is still value in contributing to society but it's better done helping your fellows at a local level.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Is "country" the same as government?

 

[therealdope]

It might have made sense in 1960 as infrastructure was nowhere near what it is now. Just 20 20 yrs earlier something like 65% of the country was agrarian. That sentiment has a lot less meaning now, and the corollary is much more relevant.

 

[Graves The Elder]

when eisenhower co-opted the viet nam situation from the french, who threw their hands up in resignation "mon dieu!", it was clear the US role there would expand.
JFK just ramped it up accordingly, based on the flawed notion that communist takeover
had to be addressed and stopped anywhere in the world.

..even in a backwater, non-strategic monsoon/rice paddy, bug infested area like
southeast asia.

 

[DirkDiggles]

Taken out of context, this means very little, but he was actually making a plea to people to fight for a better age. One that allowed for all human beings to be treated with more equality and fairness, and to stand steadfastly in front of the rising communist-fascists that were rising to power. He was asserting that freedom is not granted it is won through blood and preserved by steadfast guard. To be willing to stand for a world not ruled by "tyranny, poverty, disease, or war"

It had nothing to do with taxes or services. Putting it in that context demeans the message beyond repair.