July 22, 2013
Attorney and activist Reich analyzes the “ethics of service and sacrifice” in J.F.K.’s writings, speeches, and foreign and domestic policies, beginning with his famous inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” According to Reich, Kennedy’s ideals can be traced to classical thinkers such as Pericles. The author shows how the president himself acted with integrity and courage, as when he took sole responsibility for the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. Unfortunately, in assessing J.F.K.’s policies, Reich occasionally shoehorns in elements that have little relationship to his theme, such as the Alliance for Progress, a Cold War–era aid program for Latin American countries. While the Alliance was an important initiative, it hardly mobilized a significant number of citizens. The last chapter, “Embracing Our Citizenship,” proves to be the weakest, containing a number of vague calls for an activist citizenry and obvious statements such as, “If you want to be a volunteer, seek out opportunities that need people to give their time and energy.” Though Reich provides an informative overview of the Kennedy administration’s idealism from a citizenship perspective, he too often does so in an uninspired way.