Remarks of Welcome to the Chiefs of Mission of the Diplomatic Corps

Your Excellencies:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you again to this house.

As you know, the President of the United States bears, under our Constitution, a very direct and immediate responsibility for the conduct of all of our foreign affairs. Therefore, I come to you today to speak to you as a working colleague.

We live at a time when foreign affairs go beyond their traditional scope; they now have strong new ties with the domestic life of each of our countries.

These new ties come as a result of modern communications which bring instantly to the homes of the citizens of every country events from around the world; they come from modern weapons which can make the threat of war anywhere a life and death issue for every nation; and from the fact that we are all engaged in vast historical changes which are reshaping the political life of the planet.

I have in mind the change from the colonial era to an era when scores of new nations claim new responsibilities on the world scene. The change from traditional ways to modern societies which bring to their peoples all the advantages of modern science and technology. The change in Western Europe, and Japan, and elsewhere from a heavy postwar dependence upon the United States to now one of partnership in the great affairs of the planet. A role which their traditions and history demand and their resources permit. And a change, that we hope, from dangerous cold war to a more stable and a more peaceful world.

None of these changes is automatic. All will take time. All can be upset. All can bring threats to peace. None will succeed if we do not accept the fact of our profound interdependence--an interdependence that's made tragically and humanly real to us all by the death of President Kennedy.

And right here now I want to tell all of you, on behalf of all of the American people, how deeply touched we have been by the flood of expressions of sympathy which have poured in on us--from Kings and Presidents, from Parliaments and citizens throughout the world. It is clear that President Kennedy, by his work and by his acts, became a symbol of hope and a promise of progress, progress for freedom, and peace, and a better life for all. As we face the day-to-day tasks before us, this outpouring of sympathy will be to us a renewed dedication. All of us have our parts to play, to make these great historical changes take place in a setting of peace. We must talk to one another with candor. We must try to understand what the other man's problems are--and communicate that understanding to each other and do it with integrity. We must be alert to the points of danger, but we must be equally alert for the points of common interest. In great matters and in small matters, we must move forward together. There is no other way for us all, on this small planet.

So I welcome you. I am delighted to greet you all, as messengers of understanding, and to tell each of you and through you, your people, that we in this country will go our full share of the way toward peace, and toward good will, and toward progress.

History will remember how we lived here and what we did here. And the great challenge to you is the challenge that I face and all responsible leaders of the world face in this hour. Our achievements in science are many and varied. Our social progress is great. The improvements in man's life are many. But we still, each of us in our own respective land, all face the one challenge of our time, the one great problem for us all. And unless we can, working together, trusting each other, believing in the brotherhood of man, unless we can find the answer to that problem, then all will have been in vain.

And what is that problem? It's not the problem of missiles or satellites or conquering armies or education for our children or even improved health. The one uppermost problem is first how can we live in this world with each other, together, without living like savages or criminals or murderers or without taking the lives of each other.

I want you to know when you return to your home as the spokesman of your people that my people want to go down any road that leads to peace; that to you and your country and your people, any of them who want our cooperation, they must know that we welcome it; that they will find our agreements honorable; that we are constantly going down this road and that road and yonder road searching for the answer of how to live peaceably together.

And we believe that you have the same problem and together we share the responsibility for finding the answer. So that when we are gone, those who point to the period of our work and say, "What did he do? What did he leave us?" they can say, "He left us with the answer on how to live together. And the tensions have been relieved, the strains that once existed are not there, and new confidence is abroad and new hope is there." And ultimately by following the Golden Rule, doing unto others as you would have them do unto you, putting yourself in the other man's position, trying to understand the problems that confront him as well as to solve the problems that confront you, together as human beings we can find a better, and a richer, and a fuller life for all humanity whatever spot on the globe they occupy.

Yours is a noble calling and you are engaged in a great adventure, one of trying to find the answer of how to live together. And with the help of God and the diligence of each of us, maybe during our time we will find that answer and then what a wonderful world it will be for all of us.

Thank you.