US Presidency
1963

But as our problems have grown, this Organization has grown, in numbers, in authority, in prestige, and its member nations have grown with it, in responsibility and in maturity. We have seen too much success to become obsessed with failure. The peace-keeping machinery of the United Nations has worked in the Congo, in the Middle East, and elsewhere. The great transition from colonial rule to independence has been largely accomplished. The Decade of Development has successfully begun. The world arms race has been slowed. The struggle for human rights has been gaining new force. And a start has been made in furthering mankind's common interest in outer space in scientific exploration, in communications, in weather forecasting, in banning the stationing of nuclear weapons, and in establishing principles of law. I know that vast problems remain, conflicts between great powers, conflicts between small neighbors, disagreements over disarmament, persistence of ancient wrongs in the area of human rights, residual problems, of colonialism, and all the rest.