RFK Jr.: JFK On Art As A Unifying Force

In 1962, my uncle, John F. Kennedy, an ardent supporter of the arts, famously said: “Behind the storm of daily conflict and crisis, the dramatic confrontations, the tumult of political struggle, the poet, the artist, the musician, continues the quiet work of centuries, building bridges of experience between peoples, reminding man of the universality of his feelings and desires and despairs, and reminding him that the forces that unite are deeper than those that divide.” Art, JFK said, strikes a responsive chord in all humanity and knows no national boundaries—a sentiment that was as true then as it is today.