Finally, and of deep concern, I believe that the abandonment of the mentally ill and the mentally retarded to the grim mercy of custodial institutions too often inflicts on them and on their families a needless cruelty which this Nation should not endure.
Kennedy expresses concern over the treatment of the mentally ill and advocates for their humane treatment in society.
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More from John F. Kennedy
The choices we make, for good or ill, may well shape the state of the Union for generations yet to come.
But as an institution, it should have in the future, as it has had in the past since its inception, no stronger or more faithful member than the United States of America.
But if these programs were ever to be ended, our failures in a dozen countries would be sudden and certain.
We shall be judged more by what we do at home than by what we preach abroad.