“Surely we should explore whether the scientists and astronauts of our two countries – indeed of all the world – cannot work together in the conquest of space, sending someday in this decade to the moon not the representatives of a single nation, but the representatives of all our countries…
The contest will continue – the contest between those who see a monolithic world
and those who believe in diversity – but it should be a contest in leadership and responsibility instead of destruction, a contest in achievement instead of intimidation.
Speaking for the United States of America, I welcome such a contest.
For we believe that truth is stronger than error – and that freedom is more enduring than coercion. And in the contest for a better life, all the world can be a winner… never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and massive human misery.
We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world – or to make it our last…
John F. Kennedy
Sept. 20, 1963
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly