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Originally posted by Shoujikina
To be more serious, why would it be relevant to mention: "..until the day he died"? Why not just say "He was a member of one". It's a given, taken for granted, self-explanatory, that of course he was one 'until the day he died' - he couldn't have very well continued his membership from the other side, now could he?
Originally posted by Son of Will
So, when JFK says "secret societies", he actually meant something totally different from secret societies. And anyone who thinks he meant secret societies when he said "secret societies" is either ignorant or irresponsible.
Got it.
originally posted by: Rising Against
Addressing the JFK “Secret Society” Speech...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/ed4f60c1aa.jpg[/atsimg]
Hello all,
Anyway, according to many, JFK was talking about Secret Societies during his speech, which at the time was a speech addressing the Press. They use statements from JFK like this as an example:
[Link is the transcript posted above]
The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.
All the while ignoring the true context of the speech which will be explained below as well as the fact that JFK goes onto say this:
[Emphasis added by me] [Link is the transcript posted above]
Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match.
Thus in his own words the speech is discussing the Cold War. But anyway, I digress for now. You see, to understand this speech and the true reasoning behind it, we can't simply interpret it from what was said - If we do that we make mistakes and potentially interpret it wrong. What we have to do is instead interpret the speech from a late April, 1961 Point of view, not a 2012 point of view. Trust me, it will make a great deal more sense to all of you reading, or listening to the speech.
JFK is talking about something which he himself mentioned.. the Cold war. And Communist Russia in particular. But he's also talking about something else still, and even making a request to the very people he is addressing face to face - The press. He's specifically asking them for more secrecy with how they report and to treat the situation with the Soviets and Communism as if it was a "real war" - In other words report on the news as if they were in a war with the Soviets thus being able to withhold certain secrets which could be a national security threat..