Kennedy Society of Denmark
Purpose: Keeping alive John F. and Robert F. Kennedy’s inspiration
and philosophy of life, so that their good words can be translated into good deeds.

Profiles in Courage Award, 2001

The Kennedy Society has decided to award Chief Oncologist Carsten Rose, Lund, Sweden, with John F. Kennedy's book "Profiles in Courage" for the year 2001 for the following reasons: Chief Oncologist Carsten Rose has shown courage to administer his responsibility of giving his patients the best possible treatment. He has shown it in practise and by using his freedom of speech as his duty of speech.
Thus he has acted in accordance with the words of John F. Kennedy: "The courage to live is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment. A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis for all human morality."
This is similar to the words spoken by Robert F. Kennedy in South Africa on 6 June 1966 - in his appeal to end apartheid: "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the migtiest walls of oppression and resistance."
This understanding of loyalty may be crucial in a world where those in power are tempted to distort facts to be in their interest. This effort is also in line with the words of Jacqueline Kennedy: "John Kennedy believed so strongly... that we should all do something to right the wrongs we see and not just complain about them... He believed that one person could make a difference - and that every man should try."
- Carsten Rose has also - by inviting others to critically follow his work - acted with the perception that your best friend is not the shoulder patter but the person who gives you the necessary criticism.