The following is an edited transcript of remarks delivered Oct. 2, 2026, by Dr. E. Martin Schotz to the 174th meeting of the International Peace Coalition. Dr. Schotz is the coordinator of the JFK Peace Speech Committee, a prominent member of Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA), and author of the book, History Will Not Absolve Us: Orwellian Control, Public Denial, and the Murder of President Kennedy. The video is available here.

I am the coordinator for the JFK Peace Speech Committee. And as many know, in the last year of his Presidency, President John F. Kennedy made a radical and dramatic turn against war in general, and against the Cold War. On June 10, 1963, he delivered a commencement address at American University, where he outlined his ideas about world peace. In fact, at the beginning of this speech, he says, “What kind of peace do we seek? What kind of peace do I mean?” He said specifically, “not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by weapons of war,” but a peace that makes everyone’s life worth living and better, and not peace just for Americans, but peace for all people and for all time.

We are involved as a committee in trying to distribute this speech, because it is very, very little known in our country, and it embodies critical, absolutely eternal principles of peace that people need to understand in order to know what to advocate for, and in order to know when true security is being articulated versus the false security of militarism. In my book, History Will Not Absolve Us, I mentioned that, from my point of view, President Kennedy was a [President F.W.] de Klerk without an ANC [African National Congress]. What I meant in saying that, was that President de Klerk was able to oversee the elimination of apartheid in South Africa, because he could turn to the people in support of apartheid and say, look, do you want to do it my way, or the ANC’s way—the ANC is there, and they’re going to get rid of apartheid one way or another. But Kennedy, in his turn toward peace, was isolated. He had nothing like the equivalent of an ANC to support what he was doing, and so he could be dispatched, and the United States could be returned to the militarist path that it has been following now for decades.

So, one of the issues that came up was, what would it mean for us to have an equivalent of the ANC in the United States today? And the idea was that what we need is an American Peace Congress, which is a coming together of all various peace organizations, human rights organizations, social justice, labor organizations coming together in an American Peace Congress, and that out of that Congress could come something that the ANC developed. The ANC developed what was called a Freedom Charter, which indicated the principles they were fighting for, and against apartheid, and what could come out of an American Peace Congress is a Freedom From War Charter.

So, what some of us have done is to take the ANC’s Freedom Charter and to take President Kennedy’s speech and combine them into a document which is called a Freedom From War Charter (see below). The document, of course, is just something to help people imagine what would be possible, but the actual Freedom From War Charter would have to come out of the American Peace Congress itself. And so, I’m interested in working with any and all people who would like to see that happen, and also who may be interested in our work with regard to President Kennedy’s American University speech, and I’ll put my email in the chat so that we can be in contact with anyone who’s interested. Thank you very much.

Concluding Remarks

There were just a couple of things I didn’t say about the Kennedy speech that I think are very, very important: Peace is not a state of being; it’s a process, a way of solving problems. And he says, world peace is like community peace. It doesn’t require that everyone love each other, but that they agree to live together, submitting their disputes to a just authority. And I can’t say enough about the importance of getting this speech out to our public, so they really understand what the genuine peace process is. Thank you.

A Freedom From War Charter

We, the People of United States, declare for all our country and the world to know: that the United States is an equal member of the community of all nations; that as an equal member the United States is bound to obey international law; that peace is a human right for all people, the right of people to live out their lives without fear of devastation, the right to breathe air as nature provided it, the right of our children to a safe and secure future; that peace is not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by weapons of war, but a system of solving problems that makes life better for all, that insures that the weak are safe and the strong are just, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the fundamental human right of peace.

The people of the United States have been robbed of their right to peace by a government that is under the control of wealthy individuals and corporations, that is dominated by a military-industrial complex, and that is governed by economic powers that have sought to make the United States a world hegemon. We assert that the people of the United States will never be safe and secure until they have a government that is built on the principle of peaceful coexistence between nations. Furthermore we assert that the people of the United States must take it upon themselves to see to it that they have such a government that truly represents their interests and their desire for peace. Therefore, we, the people of the United States, equals, brothers and sisters adopt this Freedom From War Charter, and we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.

Peace Is a Topic on Which Ignorance Abounds and the Truth Is Rarely Spoken

At all levels of our educational system peace will become a topic of study and discussion. People will be encouraged to examine their own attitudes to peace, toward war, toward other nations, and to peace in our home communities. People will be educated to identify pro-war propaganda and to identify and reject images of other nations or people as “enemies.” Competition will not be seen as hostility. People will be encouraged to understand the perspective of foreign peoples and foreign governments, and will be provided with educational materials that make this possible. Opportunities for common people to meet common people of other countries as well as officials of other countries will be provided. Peace will be understood as a matter of domestic affairs as well as international affairs, and education on the relationship of peace and justice will be available. All people will be encouraged to see that they have a responsibility and a role to play in securing a peaceful society. Peace will be understood as a process, a way of solving problems, without resorting to violence.

The People Shall Have the Peace That Flows From True Democracy

Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws. Corporations are not people and do not have the rights of people. All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country. Public councils in which all are equal and are open to all will be formed at all administrative levels so that people can educate themselves on matters of concern and on that basis direct government officials on the policies they wish to see implemented. True democracy is incompatible with government secrecy. As a result all people have the right to have access to all government proceedings.

The United Nations Is a Critically Important Institution for Building World Peace

Measures will be adopted to ensure the smaller nations have an equal voice in the proceedings of the United Nations and that the United Nations becomes an increasingly democratic forum.

Peace Is Critical To Protecting the Environment

A major source of pollution and destruction of the environment is military activities. We cannot protect and preserve a healthy environment without peace.

While Complete Disarmament Is the Long Term Goal, It Is Critical To Establish What Can Be Done Now

Areas of agreement that are present will be sought out, so that treaties can be arrived at that take the peace process forward and encourage people to see what is possible. We must pursue policies that will encourage other countries to want to cooperate with us. We must see ourselves and other nations as partners in survival not as enemies.

True Peace Does Not Involve a Revolution in Human Nature, but Instead an Evolution in Human Institutions

While the goal is eventually complete disarmament—nuclear and conventional—an end to war, this can only be achieved in a gradual manner through treaties that are accompanied by the development of civilian institutions of enforcement which gradually expand the peace process. As a result it is critical for the United States to return to the many arms control treaties that it has abrogated. This process of a gradual movement to complete disarmament was outlined in a United Nations document that was unanimously endorsed by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 1961 under the title “Joint Statement of Agreed Principles for Disarmament Negotiations of the Soviet Union and the United States.” Returning to this process and expanding it to include all nations is critical for the safety of humanity.

Profiting From War Shall Be Outlawed

War represents the theft of resources from those who are most in need. Profiting from war is against the interests of the people. The people will see to it that private corporations that produce weapons for war will be taken over by the government or disbanded.

The Golden Rule Is Sacred

Some form of the Golden Rule—“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”—is a part of all cultures. In today’s world the Golden Rule is not only a moral imperative, it has become a practical necessity. What we do to others will be done to us, thus we must follow the Golden Rule.

Let all who love their people and their country now say, as we say here:

This freedom to have peace is something we will struggle for side by side, throughout our lives, until we have achieved it!