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An American Creed Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle ... against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself... The United States and a few other fortunate nations are part of an island of prosperity in a worldwide sea of poverty. Our affluence has at times severed us from the great poverty-stricken majority of the world's people. It is essential that we demonstrate that we continue to be aware of the responsibility we fortunate few have to assist the efforts of others at development and progress.
President John F. Kennedy
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