in the distance someone is singing

Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah -- to "undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free."

~ President John F. Kennedy
    Inaugural Address, 1961

President Trump's Helsinki speech was playing from You Tube when I heard him say a phrase, and I went, "Hey he borrowed that style of sentence from President Kennedy."

     Or rather, I suppose our current president's speechwriter probably borrowed the style.

     Pres. Trump said, "I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace, than to risk peace in pursuit of politics."

     The President Kennedy sentence I thought of was, "Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."

     (See what they did, there?)


     An article online discusses this "rhetorical device" which is called a "chiasmus."

     (reference:  TRIB-Live.  The Word Guy:  Charismatic JFK also employed chiasmus.  Written by Rob Kyff) --
     The author of this article says a chiasmus is a rhetorical device that reverses the word order in two parallel phrases.  He writes:

-------------------- [excerpt] -------------- Some of Kennedy's most spirited speeches crackle with chiasmus:  'Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.'  'Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.'  'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.' -------------------------- [end, excerpt]

     Every once in a while I wonder, "Has every American president since Kennedy wanted to be Kennedy?"

     (Or perhaps every presidential speechwriter since the Kennedy administration has wanted to be Ted Sorensen....)

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references:

type in on You Tube,
President Kennedy's family reflects on his 100th birthday

type in on You Tube,
Watch Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's full press conference


(Regarding the top one here, this isn't JFK 100th birthday, that was in 2017 -- but that video is educational and good, and is less than five minutes; I just happened to find it, and so recommend...)
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