John F. Kennedy on Secrecy and Press Freedom

Ladies and gentlemen, the very word secrecy is repugnant in a

free and open society, and we are as a people, inherently

and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret

oaths, and to secret proceedings.

And there is very grave danger that an announced need for

increased security will be seized upon by those anxious

to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship

and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the

extent that it's

in my control. And no official of my administration,

whether his rank

is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here

tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to

cover up our mistakes, or to withhold from the press

and the public the facts they

deserve to know. For we are opposed around the world by a

monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on

covert means for expanding its sphere of influence, on infiltration

instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on

intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of

armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast

human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly

efficient machine that combines military,

diplomatic, intelligence, economic,

scientific, and political operations.

Its preparations are concealed, not published.

Its mistakes are buried, not headlined.

Its dissenters are silenced, not praised.

I am not asking your newspapers to support an administration, but I

am asking your help in the tremendous task of

informing and alerting the American people.