A Rising Tide Lifts All the Boats

The book is based on eight thousand pages of former President John F. A Rising Tide Lifts All the Boats Kennedy’s printed communications, including his books, innumerable speeches, addresses, press conferences, debates, and letters. The first part is dedicated to detailed interpretations of the use, function, and meaning of the many proverbs, proverbial expressions, sententious remarks, and other formulaic language. Themes include: Kennedy’s concern for appropriate language and elevated style; his visionary inaugural address, which was based to a large degree on formulaic language; his frequent employment of wisdom from the Old and New Testaments; his use of folk proverbs in the call for justice, freedom, and peace; his interest in animal metaphors to reflect human behavior; and his maritime expressions as indicators of life’s ebb and flow. The second part of the book provides a comprehensive index of the many passages that include sententious and proverbial references, listed in their verbal contexts. Overall this study shows that John F. Kennedy was indeed a highly gifted communicator on the national and international stage, whose effective political discourse was informed to a considerable degree by proverbial language. The title proverb of this book—“A rising tide lifts all the boats”—was one of his favorites, and might well serve as a fitting symbol of his uplifting optimism in his struggle for freedom and peace throughout the world.

Preface – “Let the Word Go Forth”: John F. Kennedy’s Concern about Language and Style – “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You”: The Visionary and Formulaic Language of the Inaugural Address – From “civis Romanus sum” to “Ich bin ein Berliner”: Kennedy’s Sententious Remarks as the Gospel of Freedom – “The Cause of America is the Cause of All Mankind”: Kennedy’s Propensity for Familiar Quotations – “The Truth Shall Make You Free”: Kennedy’s Reliance on Proverbial Wisdom from the Bible – “This is a Free Country”: Proverbs in the Service of Justice, Freedom, and Peace – “We Must Set Our House in Order”: Proverbial Expressions as Evocative Political Discourse – “We are Willing to Look Life in the Eye”: Somatic Phrases as Signs of Emotive Commitment – “Riding the Back of the Tiger”: Animal Metaphors as Reflections of Human Behavior – “A Rising Tide Lifts All the Boats”: Maritime Expressions as Symbols of Life’s Vicissitudes – Bibliography – Index of Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases.