“Ich bin ein Berliner.”

President John F. Kennedy gave an historic speech on June 26, 1963 to a crowd in front of the Berlin Wall. Two years earlier the Soviet Union had built this wall to keep people from fleeing to non-Communist countries, mainly West Berlin. Kennedy was praising the character of the people of West Berlin in their pursuit for freedom during this period of the Cold War. Speaking from an outdoor platform to an audience of 450,000, he began his speech:

John Kennedy was a successful speaker, and this speech was considered to be one of his best, but commentary centered on his use—or misuse—of the German phrase. The claim is made that Kennedy referred to himself not as a “citizen of Berlin,” but as a “jelly-filled donut.” In parts of Germany, a Berliner is a breakfast pastry. The controversy hinged on his use of the indefinite article ein, and whether or not that changed the meaning of the phrase.

I was thirteen and in no way interested in politics, but I couldn’t miss hearing about the president’s “big gaffe.” A prolific talker myself, I sympathized—I’ve misspoke many times myself—and wondered why people had to make such a big deal about it. Everyone knew what the president was trying to say, and for the most part the crowd gave him credit for his attempt to speak their language.

Have we humans progressed in the last 50 years? We still pounce on errors and dissect them ad nauseum. We love reality shows where people treat each poorly, without respect or courtesy. We pass on scandalous gossip. We want to know the details of the latest celebrity marriage breakup and the latest arrest. We refer to our political opponents with vile names and distort the news.

We could choose another focal point. Not ignore, not ignorance, not innocence.

Our choice. Our focus.

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I wrote and published this essay in 2013. I was concerned about the lack of respect being shown in publiic spaces. I found it in a file and decided it was worth repeating today. Kathie