The Middletown Township Public Library has been awarded a competitive “We the People” grant by the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. The grant will allow the library to present a discussion of President John F. Kennedy’s great inaugural address in its historic context and in light of today’s realities. What is active citizenship today? How have the grand goals of the Kennedy years fared in the post-Cold War environment? How have new communications media and new power structures affected us as citizens?
In 1961, Kennedy issued a call to action that resounds today: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Kennedy’s words have become part of the national memory; they invoke a president who motivates and inspires, a patriotism that is positive and hopeful, active citizenship for every generation.
The library has invited three speakers for a panel discussion at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. Moderated by Dr. Christopher DeRosa of Monmouth University, the panel will also include Middletown history teacher Ellen Hill and Rutgers University faculty member, author and columnist Dr. David Greenberg.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7:30 p.m., Neil Baldwin will bring to the discussion a sense of the essential ideas that make America unique as presented in his book, “The American Revelation: Ten Ideals That Shaped Our Country From the Puritans to the Cold War.” Baldwin is an award-winning poet, author, biographer and editor, the founding executive director of the National Book Foundation, and currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at Montclair State University.
The “Ask Not” discussion and Baldwin’s talk are free and open to the public. All are welcome, but reservations are required. Tickets can be reserved by calling the library at (732) 671-3700, ext. 320, by e-mail to [email protected] or by mail.
The Middletown Township Public Library, is located at 55 New Monmouth Ave., Middletown, NJ, 07748, near the intersection of Cherry Tree Farm and Tindall roads, north of Route 35.