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President Kennedy speaks before a crowd of 35 , 000 people at Rice University in the football field The following are excerpts from his speech " We set sail on his new sea because there is a new knowledge to be gained , and new rights to be won , and they must be won and used for the progress of all people Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man , and only if the United States occupies a position of pre eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war But I do say space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war , without repeating the mistakes that man has made with extending his writ around this globe of ours There is no strife , no prejudice , no national conflict in outer space as yet Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind , and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again But why , some say the Moon e Why choose this as our goal e And they may well ask , why climb the highest mountain e Why 35 years ago why fly the Atlantic e Why does Rice play Texas e We choose to go to the Moon , we choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things , not because they are easy , but because they are hard , because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills , because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept , one we are unwilling to postpone , and one in which we intend to win , and the others too " ? |
