John Fitzgerald Kennedy Quotes

We have collected and put the best John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes in many categories. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others.

May these John F. Kennedy quotes inspire you to never give up and keep working towards your goals. Who knows—success could be just around the corner.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union. As a member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented the state of Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate prior to becoming president. May his quotes inspire you to stand up for what you believe in and take action so that you may live your dreams.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

See also: John F. Kennedy Quotes and John F. Kennedy’s Prayers

‘The green beret’ is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. I know the United States Army will live up to its reputation for imagination, resourcefulness, and spirit as we meet this challenge. – John F. Kennedy

Short And Powerful John F. Kennedy Quotes

A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane. – John F. Kennedy

A child miseducated is a child lost. – John F. Kennedy

A committee is twelve men doing the work of one. – John F. Kennedy

A life of complete leisure is the hardest work of all. – John F. Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. – John F. Kennedy

A police state finds that it cannot command the grain to grow. – John F. Kennedy

A rising tide (in the economy) lifts all boats. – John F. Kennedy

All men can fly, but sadly, only in one direction. – John F. Kennedy

Always forgive your enemies but never forget their names. – John F. Kennedy

America has tossed its cap over the wall of space. – John F. Kennedy

An artist’s working life is marked by intensive application and intense discipline. – John F. Kennedy

And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free. – John F. Kennedy

Any danger spot is tenable if men, brave men, will make it so. – John F. Kennedy

Arms alone are not enough to keep the peace. It must be kept by men. – John F. Kennedy

Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it. – John F. Kennedy

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

Be aware of danger-but recognize the opportunity. – John F. Kennedy

Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. – John F. Kennedy

Change is the law of life. – John F. Kennedy

Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Compromise does not mean cowardice. – John F. Kennedy

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. – John F. Kennedy

Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort. – John F. Kennedy

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t ask ‘Why’, ask instead, ‘Why not’. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger man. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t get too close, it hurts. – John F. Kennedy

Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. – John F. Kennedy

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. – John F. Kennedy

Everything changes but change itself. – John F. Kennedy

Fail miserably, achieve greatly! – John F. Kennedy

Failure has no friends. – John F. Kennedy

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. – John F. Kennedy

Forbidden fruit tastes sweet, but its aftertaste is bitter. – John F. Kennedy

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. – John F. Kennedy

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. – John F. Kennedy

Give me your help. Give me your hand, your voice and your vote. – John F. Kennedy

Great crises produce great men, and great deeds of courage. – John F. Kennedy

Happiness is the full use of one’s talents along lines of excellence. – John F. Kennedy

Here on earth, God’s work must surely be our own. – John F. Kennedy

He’s a great kid. He hates the same way I do. – John F. Kennedy

History will never accept difficulties as an excuse. – John F. Kennedy

Hold fast to the best of the past and move fast to the best of the future. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America … – John F. Kennedy

I can evade questions without help; what I need is answers. – John F. Kennedy

I don’t think there are any men who are faithful to their wives. – John F. Kennedy

I feel that I am truly among friends. – John F. Kennedy

I know there is a God–and I see a storm coming; if He has a place for me, I believe that I am ready. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty. – John F. Kennedy

I never, absolutely never, keep people waiting. – John F. Kennedy

I strongly believe in Scouting. … It’s a source of great strength to us. – John F. Kennedy

I think ‘Hail to the Chief’ has a nice ring to it. – John F. Kennedy

I think that both baseball and the country will endure. – John F. Kennedy

I was born an American, I live like an American, I will die an American. – John F. Kennedy

I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises. – John F. Kennedy

I’m an idealist without illusions. – John F. Kennedy

Ich Bin Ein Berliner. – John F. Kennedy

If I don’t have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches. – John F. Kennedy

If not us, who? If not now, when? – John F. Kennedy

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help. – John F. Kennedy

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. – John F. Kennedy

If you face a man’s job, find a woman! – John F. Kennedy

In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration. – John F. Kennedy

In free society art is not a weapon. Artists are not engineers of the soul. – John F. Kennedy

In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation. – John F. Kennedy

In that case, there is no time to lose. Plant it this afternoon! – John F. Kennedy

Israel was not created in order to disappear. Israel will endure and flourish. – John F. Kennedy

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. – John F. Kennedy

It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth. – John F. Kennedy

It is time for a new generation of leadership. – John F. Kennedy

It takes two to make peace. – John F. Kennedy

It was involuntary. They sank my boat. – John F. Kennedy

I’d rather you didn’t talk, but it’s up to you. – John F. Kennedy

I’m an idealist without illusions. – John F. Kennedy

Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it. – John F. Kennedy

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. – John F. Kennedy

Let Us Be Grateful. – John F. Kennedy

Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate. – John F. Kennedy

Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. – John F. Kennedy

Let’s not talk so much about vice. I’m against vice in all forms. – John F. Kennedy

Let’s talk to one another instead of about one another. – John F. Kennedy

Liberty without learning is always in peril; learning without liberty is always in vain. – John F. Kennedy

Libraries should be open to all – except the censor. – John F. Kennedy

Life in freedom is not easy, and democracy is not perfect. – John F. Kennedy

Life is unfair. – John F. Kennedy

Life isn’t fair. In never was and never will be. – John F. Kennedy

Life’s not fair but not always to your disadvantage. – John F. Kennedy

Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all. – John F. Kennedy

Man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. – John F. Kennedy

Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind. – John F. Kennedy

Most cities are nouns. New York’s a verb. – John F. Kennedy

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

Never let your fears hold you back from pursuing your hopes. – John F. Kennedy

No sane society chooses to commit national suicide. – John F. Kennedy

Nor problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. – John F. Kennedy

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride – John F. Kennedy

O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small – John F. Kennedy

Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. – John F. Kennedy

Our progress as a nation can be not swifter than our progress in education. – John F. Kennedy

Our responsibility is one of decision, for to govern is to choose. – John F. Kennedy

Our task is not to fix blame for the past, but to fix the course for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Peace is a process, a way of solving problems. – John F. Kennedy

Public libraries should be open to all—except the censor. – John F. Kennedy

Richard Cromwell was not fit to wear the mantle of his uncle. – John F. Kennedy

Self-government requires qualities of self-denial and restraint. – John F. Kennedy

Sincerity is always subject to proof. – John F. Kennedy

The basis of effective government if public confidence. – John F. Kennedy

The best road to progress is freedom’s road. – John F. Kennedy

The full use of your powers along lines of excellence. – John F. Kennedy

The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. – John F. Kennedy

The human mind is our fundamental resource. – John F. Kennedy

The most ideal approach to advance is the way of opportunity. – John F. Kennedy

The only reason to give a speech is to change the world. – John F. Kennedy

The pay is good and I can walk to work. – John F. Kennedy

The rising tide lifts all the boats. – John F. Kennedy

The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master. – John F. Kennedy

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. – John F. Kennedy

The United States has to move very fast to even stand still. – John F. Kennedy

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. – John F. Kennedy

The US Airforce assures me that UFO’s pose no threat to National Security. – John F. Kennedy

The very word Secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society. – John F. Kennedy

There can be no progress if people have no faith in tomorrow. – John F. Kennedy

There’s an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan. – John F. Kennedy

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen. – John F. Kennedy

This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor. – John F. Kennedy

Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. – John F. Kennedy

To those whom much is given, much is expected. – John F. Kennedy

Unless liberty flourishes in all lands, it cannot flourish in one. – John F. Kennedy

Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan. – John F. Kennedy

We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves. – John F. Kennedy

We celebrate the past to awaken the future. – John F. Kennedy

We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard. – John F. Kennedy

We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

We must abolish nuclear weapons, or they will abolish us. – John F. Kennedy

We must use time as a tool, not as a couch. – John F. Kennedy

We need men who can dream of things that never were. – John F. Kennedy

We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. – John F. Kennedy

We stand today on the edge of a new frontier. – John F. Kennedy

We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors. – John F. Kennedy

We want to be first; not first if, not first but; but first! – John F. Kennedy

We will do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard. – John F. Kennedy

When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. – John F. Kennedy

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. – John F. Kennedy

Wherever there is smoke there is a good smoke machine. – John F. Kennedy

You never know what’s hit you. A gunshot is the perfect way. – John F. Kennedy

You’re in there with me. Personally. – John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Quotes In Many Subjects

A boy spends his time finding a girl to sleep with. A real man spends his time looking for the one worth waking up to. – John F. Kennedy

A Canadian newspaperman said yesterday that this is the President’s “Easter egghead roll on the White House lawn.” I want to deny that! – John F. Kennedy

A country is as strong, really, as its citizens. And I think that mental and physical health – mental and physical vigor – go hand in hand. – John F. Kennedy

A full scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes…could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And the survivors-as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, `the survivors would envy the dead.’ For they would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot conceive of its horrors. – John F. Kennedy

A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. – John F. Kennedy

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death. – John F. Kennedy

A medical revolution has extended the life of our elder citizens without providing the dignity and security those later years deserve. – John F. Kennedy

A nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. – John F. Kennedy

A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. – John F. Kennedy

A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. – John F. Kennedy

A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or regard that quality in its chosen leaders today – and in fact we have forgotten. – John F. Kennedy

A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget. As the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more revenues. Prosperity is the real way to balance our budget. By lowering tax rates, by increasing jobs and income, we can expand tax revenues and finally bring our budget into balance. – John F. Kennedy

A technological revolution on the farm has led to an output explosion–but we have not yet learned to harness that explosion usefully, while protecting our farmers’ right to full parity income. – John F. Kennedy

A tired nation, said David Lloyd George, is a Tory nation, and the United States today cannot afford to be either tired or Tory. – John F. Kennedy

A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard-core unemployed. – John F. Kennedy

Above all, we are coming to understand that the arts incarnate the creativity of a free people. When the creative impulse cannot flourish, when it cannot freely select its methods and objects, when it is deprived of spontaneity, then society severs the root of art. – John F. Kennedy

Abroad, the balance of power is shifting. There are new and more terrible weapons – new and uncertain nations – new pressures of population and deprivation. – John F. Kennedy

According to the ancient Chinese proverb, A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. – John F. Kennedy

Acting on our own, by ourselves, we cannot establish justice throughout the world; we cannot insure its domestic tranquility, or provide for its common defense, or promote its general welfare, or secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. – John F. Kennedy

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’ – John F. Kennedy

All my life I’ve known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid, to let them go ahead? – John F. Kennedy

All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop those talents. – John F. Kennedy

All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy

All of us in the Congress are made fully aware of the importance of party unity (what sins have been committed in that name!). – John F. Kennedy

All over the world, particularly in the newer nations, young men are coming to power–men who are not bound by the traditions of the past–men who are not blinded by the old fears and hates and rivalries– young men who can cast off the old slogans and delusions and suspicions. – John F. Kennedy

All students, members of the faculty, and public officials in both Mississippi and the Nation will be able, it is hoped, to return to their normal activities with full confidence in the integrity of American law. This is as it should be, for our Nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny. – John F. Kennedy

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days . . .nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. – John F. Kennedy

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. – John F. Kennedy

American history is not something dead and over. It is always alive, always growing, always unfinished. – John F. Kennedy

An across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes … to expand the incentives and opportunities of private expenditures. – John F. Kennedy

And a revolution of automation finds machines replacing men in the mines and mills of America, without replacing their incomes or their training or their needs to pay the family doctor, grocer and landlord. – John F. Kennedy

And finally, at age seventy, having distinguished himself as a brilliant Secretary of State, an independent President and an eloquent member of Congress, he was to record somberly that his whole life has been a succession of disappointments. I can scarcely recollect a single instance of success in anything that I ever undertook. ‘Yet’. – John F. Kennedy

And if we are to open employment opportunities in this country for members of all races and creeds, then the Federal Government must set an example. The President himself must set the key example. I am not going to promise a Cabinet post or any other post to any race or ethnic group. That is racism in reverse at its worst. So I do not promise to consider race or religion in my appointments if I am successful. I promise only that I will not consider them. – John F. Kennedy

And lastly, Chairman Khrushchev has compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance, and stated that the Soviet Union would out-produce the United States by 1970. Without wishing to trade hyperbole with the Chairman, I do suggest that he reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger’s skin long before he his caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas. – John F. Kennedy

And only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished it as an infant, and carried it through its severest tests upon the attainment of its maturity. – John F. Kennedy

And so it is that I carry with me from this State to that high and lonely office to which I now succeed more than fond memories and fast friendships. The enduring qualities of Massachusetts – the common threads woven by the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant – will not be and could not be forgotten in the Nations Executive Mansion. They are an indelible part of my life, my convictions, my view of the past, my hopes for the future. – John F. Kennedy

And so it is to the printing press–to the recorder of man’s deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news–that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. – John F. Kennedy

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. – John F. Kennedy

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 is 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. – John F. Kennedy

And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient that we are only 6 percent of the worlds population that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem. – John F. Kennedy

And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage… Second, were we truly men of judgment… Third, were we truly men of integrity… Finally, were we truly men of dedication? – John F. Kennedy

Another way of indicating the importance of immigration to America is to point out that every American who ever lived, with the exception of one group, was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants. – John F. Kennedy

Any system of government will work when everything is going well. It’s the system that functions in the pinches that survive. – John F. Kennedy

Anyone who is honestly seeking a job and can’t find it, deserves the attention of the United States government, and the people. – John F. Kennedy

Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgement. The artist… faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an offensive state. – John F. Kennedy

Art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. – John F. Kennedy

As a great democratic society, we have a special responsibility to the arts. For art is the great democrat, calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color. What freedom alone can bring is the liberation of the human mind and a spirit which finds its greatest flowering in the free society. I see of little more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than the full recognition of the place of the artist. – John F. Kennedy

As every past generation has had to disenthrall itself from an inheritance of truisms and stereotypes, so in our own time we must move on from the reassuring repetition of stale phrases to a new, difficult, but essential confrontation with reality. For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie-deliberate, contrived and dishonest-but the myth-persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Mythology distracts us everywhere. – John F. Kennedy

As far as the job of President goes, its rewarding and I’ve given before this group the definition of happiness for the Greeks. I’ll define it again: the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. I find, therefore, that the Presidency provides some happiness. – John F. Kennedy

As science, of necessity, becomes more involved with itself, so also, of necessity, it becomes more international. I am impressed to know that of the 670 members of this Academy. – John F. Kennedy

As they say on my own Cape Cod, a rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversity let us also be partners in prosperity. – John F. Kennedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy

Ask not what your community can do for you; ask what your community can not do for anyone else. – John F. Kennedy

Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

At the start of 2005 the idea of downloading a song to a mobile phone was an idea, by the end of the year it was a reality. – John F. Kennedy

Automation does not need to be our enemy. I think machines can make life easier for men, if men do not let the machines dominate them. – John F. Kennedy

Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure. The outcome is by no means certain. – John F. Kennedy

Blight has descended on our regulatory agencies – and a dry rot, beginning in Washington, is seeping into every corner of America – in the payola mentality, the expense account way of life, the confusion between what is legal and what is right. – John F. Kennedy

Budget deficits are not caused by wild-eyed spenders, but by slow economic growth and periodic recessions. And any new recession would break all deficit records. In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low, and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now. – John F. Kennedy

But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected president, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured – perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again not what kind of church I believe in – for that should be important only to me – but what kind of America I believe in. – John F. Kennedy

But colonialism in its harshest forms is not only the exploitation of new nations by old, of dark skins by light, or the subjugation of the poor by the rich. My Nation was once a colony, and we know what colonialism means; the exploitation and subjugation of the weak by the powerful, of the many by the few, of the governed who have given no consent to be governed, whatever their continent, their class, their color. – John F. Kennedy

But Goethe tells us in his greatest poem that Faust lost the liberty of his soul when he said to the passing moment: “Stay, thou art so fair.” And our liberty, too, is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy

But I think it is also important that we pay tribute and acknowledge another great principle, and that is the principle of religious conviction. Religious freedom has no significance unless it is accompanied by conviction. – John F. Kennedy

But if the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do likewise. – John F. Kennedy

But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask; why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? – John F. Kennedy

By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia,’ ‘the security of the nation,’ and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms,’ our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy… The Second Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the Second Amendment will always be important. – John F. Kennedy

Certain other societies may respect the rule of force–we respect the rule of law. – John F. Kennedy

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy

Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. – John F. Kennedy

Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. – John F. Kennedy

Courage–judgment–integrity–dedication–these are the historic qualities of the Bay Colony and the Bay State. And these are the qualities which, with God’s help, this son of Massachusetts hopes will characterize our government’s conduct in the four stormy years that lie ahead. – John F. Kennedy

Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. – John F. Kennedy

Described Washington as a community of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. – John F. Kennedy

Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. – John F. Kennedy

Disarmament without checks is but a shadow – and a community without law is but a shell. – John F. Kennedy

Do you know this old style of American family series? Well, I sit there and cry. – John F. Kennedy

Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I’m the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House. – John F. Kennedy

Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay for a landslide. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t let it be forgot, That once there was a spot -For one brief shining moment, That was known as Camelot. – John F. Kennedy

Each success brings with it the potential of failure and each failure brings with it the potential of success. – John F. Kennedy

Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of people remain in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance. – John F. Kennedy

Every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. this is not the case. – John F. Kennedy

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. – John F. Kennedy

Every dollar released from taxation that is spared or invested will help create a new job and a new salary. – John F. Kennedy

Every president has taken comfort and courage when told…that the Lord “will be with thee. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Fear not-neither be thou dismayed. – John F. Kennedy

Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is also true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. – John F. Kennedy

Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government, to the same extent we are sacrificing the liberties of our people. – John F. Kennedy

Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life. – John F. Kennedy

Expansion and modernization of the nation’s productive plant is essential to accelerate economic growth and to improve the international competitive position of American industry An early stimulus to business investment will promote recovery and increase employment. – John F. Kennedy

Few nations do more than the United States to assist their least fortunate citizens-to make certain that no child, no elderly or handicapped citizen, no family in any circumstances in any State, is left without the essential needs for a decent and healthy existence. In too few nations, I might add, are the people aware of the progressive strides this country has taken in demonstrating the humanitarian side of freedom. Our record is a proud one-and it sharply refutes those who accuse us of thinking only in the materialistic terms of cash registers and calculating machines. – John F. Kennedy

Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end–where all men and all churches are treated as equal–where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice–where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind–and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood. – John F. Kennedy

First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. I believe we should go to the moon. But there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. – John F. Kennedy

First, what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. If we are to work for the future of the city, let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were. – John F. Kennedy

Food is strength, and food is peace, and food is freedom, and food is a helping hand to people around the world whose good will and friendship we want. – John F. Kennedy

Football today is far too much a sport for the few who can play it well; the rest of us, and too many of our children, get out exercise from climbing up the seats in stadiums, or from walking across the room to turn on our television sets. – John F. Kennedy

For a subject worked and reworked so often in novels, motion pictures, and television, American Indians remain probably the least understood and most misunderstood Americans of us all. – John F. Kennedy

For courage — not complacency — is our need today. Leadership — not salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. – John F. Kennedy

For I can assure you that we love our country, not for what it was, though it has always been great – not for what it is, though of this we are deeply proud – but for what it someday can, and, through the efforts of us all, someday will be. – John F. Kennedy

For in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors. – John F. Kennedy

For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s futures. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. – John F. Kennedy

For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to ones associates the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed? Secondly, were we truly men of judgment with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it. Third, were we truly men of integrity men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust? Finally, were we truly men of dedication with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest? Courage judgment integrity dedication these are the historic qualities which, with God’s help will characterize our Governments conduct in the 4 stormy years that lie ahead. – John F. Kennedy

For one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members. Let this be the measure of our nation. – John F. Kennedy

For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. – John F. Kennedy

For plague and pestilence, plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation. The earth, the sea and the air are the concern of every nation. – John F. Kennedy

For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived, and dishonest–but the myth–persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. – John F. Kennedy

For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. – John F. Kennedy

For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril. – John F. Kennedy

For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men have lived. – John F. Kennedy

For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children’s futures, and we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

Foreign aid is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world. – John F. Kennedy

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. – John F. Kennedy

Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder. – John F. Kennedy

Harry Truman once said, ‘There are 14 or 15 million Americans who have the resources to have representatives in Washington to protect their interests, and that the interests of the great mass of the other people – the 150 or 160 million – is the responsibility of the president of the United States, and I propose to fulfill it.’ – John F. Kennedy

High income tax rates not only check consumption but discourage investment and encourage…the avoidance of taxes [rather] than the production of goods.[…]Our present tax system…reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment, and risk-taking. – John F. Kennedy

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside. – John F. Kennedy

History will not judge our endeavors–and a government cannot be selected–merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these. – John F. Kennedy

I also want to take cognizance of the fact that this flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of failure, which would have been damaging to our country’s prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open society of ours which risked much, gained much. – John F. Kennedy

I am deeply touched not as deeply touched as you have been coming to this dinner, but nevertheless it is a sentimental occasion. – John F. Kennedy

I am flatly opposed to appointment of an ambassador to the Vatican. Whatever advantages it might have in Rome – and I’m not convinced of these – they would be more than offset by the divisive effect at home. – John F. Kennedy

I am fully aware of the fact that the Democratic Party, by nominating someone of my faith, has taken on what many regard as a new and hazardous risk. – John F. Kennedy

I am glad that Congress has recently authorized $800,000 to State welfare agencies to expand their day-care services during the remainder of this fiscal year. But we need much more. We need the $8 million in the 1965 budget for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare allocated to this purpose. – John F. Kennedy

I am grateful to those Members of Congress who worked so diligently to guide the Equal Pay Act through. It is a first step. It affirms our determination that when women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelopes. – John F. Kennedy

I am not so much concerned with the right of everyone to say anything he pleases as I am about our need as a self-governing people to hear everything relevant. – John F. Kennedy

I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for President, who happens also to be a Catholic. – John F. Kennedy

I am sorry to say that there is too much point to the wisecrack that life is extinct on other planets because their scientists were more advanced than ours. – John F. Kennedy

I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters – and the church does not speak for me. – John F. Kennedy

I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it. – John F. Kennedy

I am the one person who can truthfully say, I got my job through the New York Times. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish – where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source – where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials – and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end… where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where the free enterprise system flourishes for all other systems to see and admire – where no businessman lacks either competition or credit – and where no monopoly, no racketeer, no government bureaucracy can put him out of business that he built up with his own initiative. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where the rights that I have described are enjoyed by all, regardless of their race or their creed or their national origin – where every citizen is free to think and speak as he pleases and write and worship as he pleases – and where every citizen is free to vote as he pleases, without instructions from anyone, his employer, the union leader or his clergyman. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute – where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act. I do not speak for my church on public matters – and the church does not speak for me. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute where no Catholic prelate would tell the President how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him. I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its official sand where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all. For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia’s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson’s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim but tomorrow it may be you until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril. Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end where all men and all churches are treated as equal where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood. That is the kind of America in which I believe. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, human liberty as the source of national action, the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion… for liberalism is not so much a party creed as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man’s ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves. – John F. Kennedy

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project…will be more exciting, or more impressive to mankind, or more important…and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. – John F. Kennedy

I believe the American people are more concerned with a man’s views and abilities than with the church to which he belongs. I believe the founding fathers meant it when they provided in Article VI of the Constitution that there should be no religious test for public office. And I believe that the American people mean to adhere to those principles today. – John F. Kennedy

I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world. – John F. Kennedy

I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: ‘I served in the United States Navy. – John F. Kennedy

I can’t see that it’s wrong to give him a little legal experience before he goes out to practice law. – John F. Kennedy

I do not believe that Washington should do for the people what they can do for themselves through local and private effort. – John F. Kennedy

I do not say that all men are equal in their ability, character and motivation. I do say that every American should be given a fair chance to develop all the talents they may have. – John F. Kennedy

I do not speak for my church on public matters; and the church does not speak for me. – John F. Kennedy

I do not think it altogether inappropriate to introduce myself to this audience. I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it. – John F. Kennedy

I don’t see what’s wrong with giving Bobby a little experience before he starts to practise law. – John F. Kennedy

I don’t think the intelligence reports are all that hot. Some days I get more out of the New York Times. – John F. Kennedy

I emphasise the following: don’t, whatever happens, be anyone but yourself. Don’t act anyone else-that would be fatal. – John F. Kennedy

I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed … that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come. – John F. Kennedy

I had the good fortune of speaking with Orson Wells many decades ago and he said ‘Success is primarily luck anyway.’ And I have been very lucky. Of course, Orson Wells was enormously talented and brilliant – so who am I to argue with him! – John F. Kennedy

I have a nice home, the office is close by, and the pay is good. – John F. Kennedy

I have asked the secretary of the treasury to report by April 1 on whether present tax laws may be stimulating in undue amounts the flow of American capital to the industrial countries abroad through special preferential treatment. – John F. Kennedy

I have been so fortunate and I really am appreciative of the success I’ve had. – John F. Kennedy

I have just received the following wire from my generous Daddy. It says, Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than is necessary. I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide. – John F. Kennedy

I have said that control of arms is a mission that we undertake particularly for our children and our grandchildren and that they have no lobby in Washington. – John F. Kennedy

I have seen in many places housing which has been developed under government influences, but I have never seen any projects in which governments have played their part which have fountains and statues and grass and trees, which are as important to the concept of the home as the roof itself. – John F. Kennedy

I hear it said that West Berlin is militarily untenable – and so was Bastogne, and so, in fact, was Stalingrad. Any danger spot is tenable if men – brave men – will make it so. – John F. Kennedy

I hope that no American will waste his franchise and throw away his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant. – John F. Kennedy

I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy Dear Jack: Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide. – John F. Kennedy

I know few significant questions of public policy which can safely be confided to computers. In the end, the hard decisions inescapably involve imponderables of intuition, prudence, and judgment. – John F. Kennedy

I know my Republican friends were glad to see my wife feeding an elephant in India. She gave him sugar and nuts. But of course the elephant wasn’t satisfied.

I know there is a God – I see the storm coming and I see his hand in it – if he has a place then I am ready – we see the hand. – John F. Kennedy

I love her deeply and have done everything for her. I’ve no feeling of letting her down because I’ve put her foremost in everything. – John F. Kennedy

I mean, they are just as susceptible to pressure and in many ways more susceptible to pressure because they are desperately anxious, this is their tremendous chance to break through the rather narrow lives they may lead. – John F. Kennedy

I must say that though other days may not be so bright, as we look toward the future, that the brightest days will continue to be those we spent with you here in Ireland. – John F. Kennedy

I never know when I press these whether I am going to blow up Massachusetts or start the project. – John F. Kennedy

I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers.. I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them. – John F. Kennedy

I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy

I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. – John F. Kennedy

I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal bureaucracies in this administration as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. – John F. Kennedy

I suppose if you could have only one thing, it would be that-energy. Without it, you haven’t got a thing. – John F. Kennedy

I terminated the interview when I didn’t know what he was talking about and went upstairs to lunch. – John F. Kennedy

I think it is appropriate that we pay tribute to this great constitutional principle which is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution: the principle of religious independence, of religious liberty, of religious freedom. – John F. Kennedy

I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high—to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. – John F. Kennedy

I think we’re going to have to do better. Mr. Nixon talks about our being the strongest country in the world. I think we are today, but we were far stronger relative to the Communists 5 years ago. And what is of great concern is that the balance of power is in danger of moving with them. They made a breakthrough in missiles and by 1961, ‘2, and ‘3, they will be outnumbering us in missiles. – John F. Kennedy

I want every American to be free to stand up for his rights, even if sometimes he has to sit down for them. – John F. Kennedy

I was never accepted into certain parts of New England society because my grandfather was an Irish barkeep. – John F. Kennedy

I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds. – John F. Kennedy

I would encourage every American to walk as often as possible. It’s more than healthy; it’s fun. – John F. Kennedy

I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty … Neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test – even by indirection. – John F. Kennedy

I’m 43 years old and I’m the healthiest candidate for the Presidency of the United States. You’ve travelled with me enough to know that I’m not going to die in office. – John F. Kennedy

I’m an idealist without illusions. [Ca. 1953, attributed to John F. Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. in ‘A Thousand Days’ – John F. Kennedy

I’m shadowboxing in a match the shadow is always going to win. (as a young man battling his deceased brother’s heroic legacy) – John F. Kennedy

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. – John F. Kennedy

If all of you had voted the other way – there’s about 5500 of you here tonight – I would not be the President of the United States. – John F. Kennedy

If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president’s. – John F. Kennedy

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. – John F. Kennedy

If at times our actions seem to make life difficult for others, it is only because history has made life difficult for us all. – John F. Kennedy

If freedom is to survive and prosper, it will require the sacrifice, the effort and the thoughtful attention of every citizen. – John F. Kennedy

If I had to live my life over again, I would have a different father, a different wife and a different religion. – John F. Kennedy

If men and women are in chains anywhere in the world, then freedom is endangered everywhere. – John F. Kennedy

If my church attempted to influence me in a way which was improper or which affected adversely my responsibilities as a public servant sworn to uphold the Constitution, then I would reply to them that this was an improper action on their part. It was one to which I could not subscribe. – John F. Kennedy

If scientific discovery has not been an unalloyed blessing, if it has conferred on mankind the power not only to create but also to annihilate, it has at the same time provided humanity with a supreme challenge and a supreme testing. – John F. Kennedy

If somebody harbours delusions, I think that should disqualify them from office, regardless whether the delusions are religious. Letting someone who thinks the god Jehovah will bail him out serve in public office is like letting a man who believes in Santa Claus run a Toys ‘R Us. – John F. Kennedy

If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our nation falls short of its highest potential. I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. – John F. Kennedy

If the economy of today were operating close to capacity levels with little unemployment, or if a sudden change in our military requirements should cause a scramble for men and resources, then I would oppose tax reductions as irresponsible and inflationary; and I would not hesitate to recommend a tax increase if that were necessary. – John F. Kennedy

If the self-discipline of the free cannot match the iron discipline of the mailed fist, in economic, political, scientific, and all the other kinds of struggles, as well as the military, then the peril to freedom will continue to rise. – John F. Kennedy

If there is negotiation, it must be rooted in mutual respect and concern for the rights of others. – John F. Kennedy

If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty. – John F. Kennedy

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help. – John F. Kennedy

If we are to go only halfway or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty… it would be better to not go at all. – John F. Kennedy

If we are to open employment opportunities in this country for members of all races and creeds, then the Federal Government must set an example … I am not going to promise a Cabinet post or any other post to any race or ethnic group. That is racism in reverse at its worst. So I do not promise to consider race or religion in my appointments if I am successful. I promise only that I will not consider them. – John F. Kennedy

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. – John F. Kennedy

If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

If we could ever competitively, at a cheap rate, get fresh water from saltwater, ..(this) would be in the long-range interests of humanity which could really dwarf any other scientific accomplishments. – John F. Kennedy

If we fail to encourage physical development and prowess, we will undermine our capacity for thought, for work, and for use of those skills vital to an expanding and complex America. – John F. Kennedy

If we fail to meet the challenge of either Soviet or Western imperialism, then no amount of foreign aid, no aggrandizement of armaments, no new pacts or doctrines or high-level conferences can prevent further setbacks to our course and to our security. – John F. Kennedy

If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much. – John F. Kennedy

If you look throughout human history … the central epiphany of every religious tradition always occurs in the wilderness. – John F. Kennedy

Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience. – John F. Kennedy

In 1797 a member of Congress argued that, while a liberal immigration policy was fine when the country was new and unsettled, now that America had reached its maturity and was fully populated, immigration should stop—an argument which has been repeated at regular intervals throughout American history. – John F. Kennedy

In a lonely grave, forgotten and unknown, lies the man who saved a President, and who as a result may well have preserved for ourselves and posterity Constitutional government in the United States—the man who performed in 1868 what one historian has called the most heroic act in American history, incomparably more difficult than any deed of valor upon the field of battle—but a United States Senator whose name no one recalls: Edmund G. Ross of Kansas. – John F. Kennedy

In a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there. – John F. Kennedy

In America there must be only citizens, not divided by grade, first and second, but citizens, east, west, north, and south. – John F. Kennedy

In giving rights to others which belong to them, we give rights to ourselves and to our country. – John F. Kennedy

In listing these abuses I do not mean to condemn our central effort to protect the Nation’s security. The dangers that surround us have been very great, and many of our measures of vigilance have ample justification. Yet there are few among us who do not share a portion of the blame for not recognizing soon enough the dark tendency towards excess of caution. – John F. Kennedy

In seeking the help of the Congress and our countrymen, I pledged no easy answers. I pledged, and asked, only toil and dedication. These the Congress and the people have given in good measure. – John F. Kennedy

In the dark days and darker nights when England stood alone-and most men save Englishmen despaired of England’s life-he [Churchill] mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. – John F. Kennedy

In the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it. – John F. Kennedy

In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside. – John F. Kennedy

In the years since man unlocked the power stored up within the atom, the world has made progress, halting, but effective, toward bringing that power under human control. The challenge may be our salvation. As we begin to master the destructive potentialities of modern science, we move toward a new era in which science can fulfill its creative promise and help bring into existence the happiest society the world has ever known. – John F. Kennedy

In those countries where income taxes are lower than in the United States, the ability to defer the payment of U.S. tax by retaining income in the subsidiary companies provides a tax advantage for companies operating through overseas subsidiaries that is not available to companies operating solely in the United States. Many American investors properly made use of this deferral in the conduct of their foreign investment. – John F. Kennedy

In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong. – John F. Kennedy

Irrational barriers and ancient prejudices fall quickly when the question of survival itself is at stake. – John F. Kennedy

Is this Nation stating it cannot afford to spend an additional $600 million to help the developing nations of the world become strong and free and independent an amount less than this country’s annual outlay for lipstick, face cream, and chewing gum? – John F. Kennedy

Israel was not created in order to disappear – Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom. – John F. Kennedy

Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. – John F. Kennedy

It has been a long road to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and towns and homes all over America. – John F. Kennedy

It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus. – John F. Kennedy

It is compromise that prevents each set of reformers from crushing the group at the other end of the political spectrum. – John F. Kennedy

It is for these reasons that I believe we must expand day-care centers and provide other assistance which I have recommended to the Congress. At present, the total facilities of all the licensed day-care centers in the Nation can take care of only 185,000 children. Nearly 500,000 children under 12 must take care of themselves while their mothers work. This, it seems to me, is a formula for disaster. – John F. Kennedy

It is in the American tradition to stand up for one’s rights–even if the new way to stand up for one’s rights is to sit down. – John F. Kennedy

It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits. – John F. Kennedy

It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization. – John F. Kennedy

It is no contradiction – the most important single thing we can do to stimulate investment in today’s economy is to raise consumption by major reduction of individual income tax rates. – John F. Kennedy

It is not always easy. Your successes are unheralded–your failures are trumpeted. I sometimes have that feeling myself. But I am sure you realize how important is your work, how essential it is–and how, in the long sweep of history, how significant your efforts will be judged. – John F. Kennedy

It is not only the unit vote for the Presidency we are talking about, but a whole solar system of governmental power. If it is proposed to change the balance of power of one of the elements of the solar system, it is necessary to consider the others. – John F. Kennedy

It is our task in our time and in our generation, to hand down undiminished to those who come after us, as was handed down to us by those who went before, the natural wealth and beauty which is ours. – John F. Kennedy

It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won. – John F. Kennedy

It is true that my predecessor did not object, as I do, to pictures of one’s golf skill in action. But neither, on the other hand, did he ever bean a Secret Serviceman. – John F. Kennedy

It is with great satisfaction that I have signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1961. They represent an additional step toward eliminating many of the hardships resulting from old age, disability, or the death of the family wage-earner. A nation’s strength lies in the well-being of its people. The Social Security program plays an important part in providing for families, children, and older persons in time of stress, but it cannot remain static. Changes in our population, in our working habits, and in our standard of living require constant revision. – John F. Kennedy

It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. – John F. Kennedy

It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. – John F. Kennedy

It’s only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead. – John F. Kennedy

I’d like to be a wounded leading man. Instead of a pillar of strength, I’d be the scared one. – John F. Kennedy

Just because we cannot see clearly the end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey. – John F. Kennedy

Khrushchev reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger’s skin long before he has caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas. – John F. Kennedy

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. – John F. Kennedy

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce. – John F. Kennedy

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. – John F. Kennedy

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans. – John F. Kennedy

Let us make it clear that we will never turn our backs on our steadfast friends in Israel, whose adherence to the democratic way must be admired by all friends of freedom. – John F. Kennedy

Let us not be blind to our differences-but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past – let us accept our own responsibility for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Let us not emphasize all on which we differ but all we have in common. Let us consider not what we fear separately but what we share together. – John F. Kennedy

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept our own responsibility for the future. – John F. Kennedy

Let us resolve to be masters, not the victims, of our history, controlling our own destiny without giving way to blind suspicions and emotions. – John F. Kennedy

Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain. – John F. Kennedy

Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met—obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty. – John F. Kennedy

Lobbyists are in many cases expert technicians and capable of explaining complex and difficult subjects in a clear, understandable fashion. They engage in personal discussions with Members of Congress in which they can explain in detail the reasons for positions they advocate. Because our congressional representation is based on geographical boundaries, the lobbyists who speak for the various economic, commercial, and other functional interests of this country serve a very useful purpose and have assumed an important role in the legislative process. – John F. Kennedy

Lofty words cannot construct an alliance or maintain it; only concrete deeds can do that. – John F. Kennedy

Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased – not a reduced – flow of revenues to the federal government. – John F. Kennedy

Malthus argued a century and a half ago that man, by using up all his available resources, would forever press on the limits of subsistence, thus condemning humanity to an indefinite future of misery and poverty. We can now begin to hope and, I believe, know that Malthus was expressing not a law of nature, but merely the limitation then of scientific and social wisdom. The truth or falsity of his prediction will depend now, with the tools we have, on our own actions, now and in the years to come. – John F. Kennedy

Many people think I’m a television personality. I never have been! Just someone who acts it. – John F. Kennedy

Members of the Congress, the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage. It is my task to report the State of the Union–to improve it is the task of us all. – John F. Kennedy

Modern cynics and skeptics… see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. – John F. Kennedy

Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence. – John F. Kennedy

Mr. Nixon has, in the last seven days, called me an economic ignoramus, a Pied Piper, and all the rest. I’ve just confined myself to calling him a Republican. But he says that is getting low. – John F. Kennedy

My brother Bob doesn’t want to be in government – he promised Dad he’d go straight. – John F. Kennedy

My call is not to those who believe they belong to the past. My call is to those who believe in the future. – John F. Kennedy

My experience in government is that when things are non-controversial and beautifully coordinated, there is not much going on. – John F. Kennedy

My father died when I was 4 years old, so I can’t really say anything about his hearing. – John F. Kennedy

My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. – John F. Kennedy

National parks and reserves are an integral aspect of intelligent use of natural resources. It is the course of wisdom to set aside an ample portion of our natural resources as national parks and reserves, thus ensuring that future generations may know the majesty of the earth as we know it today. – John F. Kennedy

Nearly forty years ago, a distinguished Prime Minister of this country took the part of the United States at a disarmament conference. He said, “They may not be angels but they are at least our friends.” – John F. Kennedy

Neither smiles nor frowns, neither good intentions nor harsh words, are a substitute for strength. – John F. Kennedy

Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world. – John F. Kennedy

Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and massive human misery. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world–or to make it the last. – John F. Kennedy

Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. – John F. Kennedy

No American is ever made better off by pulling a fellow American down, and all of us are made better off whenever any one of us is made better off. – John F. Kennedy

No country can possibly move ahead, no free society can possibly be sustained, unless it has an educated citizenry whose qualities of mind and heart permit it to take part in the complicated and increasingly sophisticated decisions that pour not only upon the President and upon the Congress, but upon all the citizens who exercise the ultimate power. – John F. Kennedy

No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. – John F. Kennedy

No man who enters upon the office to which I have succeeded can fail to recognize how every president of the United States has placed special reliance upon his faith in God. – John F. Kennedy

No man who enters upon the office to which I have succeeded can fail to recognize how every president of the United States has placed special reliance upon his faith in God. Every president has taken comfort and courage when told that the Lord ‘will be with thee. He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Fear not-neither be thou dismayed.’ Each of our presidents in his own way has placed a special trust in God. Those who were strongest intellectually were also strongest spiritually. – John F. Kennedy

No one gains from fair employment law and legislation if there is no employment to be had. – John F. Kennedy

No one has been barred on account of his race from fighting or dying for America, there are no white or colored signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle. – John F. Kennedy

No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition and both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. – John F. Kennedy

No responsibility of government is more fundamental than the responsibility of maintaining the highest standard of ethical behavior for those who conduct the public business. – John F. Kennedy

No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can, if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers, offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race. – John F. Kennedy

Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves. – John F. Kennedy

Now is the time…for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on Earth. – John F. Kennedy

Now let me make it clear that I believe there can only be one defense policy for the United States and that is summed up in the word ‘first.’ I do not mean first, but. I do not mean first, when. I do not mean first, if. I mean first – period. – John F. Kennedy

Now we have a problem in trying to make our power credible, and Vietnam looks like the place. – John F. Kennedy

Now, as never before, hundreds of millions of men and women-who had formerly believed that stoic resignation in the face of hunger and disease and darkness was the best one could could do-have come alive with a new sense that the means are at hand with which to make for themselves a better life. – John F. Kennedy

Of all the multitudes who throughout history have spoken for human dignity in times of great suffering and loss, no voice is more compelling than that of Anne Frank. – John F. Kennedy

Of course, both major parties today seek to serve the national interest. They would do so in order to obtain the broadest base of support, if for no nobler reason. But when party and officeholder differ as to how the national interest is to be served, we must place first the responsibility we owe not to our party or even to our constituents but to our individual consciences. – John F. Kennedy

Of course, I also attribute some of my hearing loss to being in the infantry in World War II. It’s probably a combination of heredity and noise exposure. – John F. Kennedy

Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life, I find. – John F. Kennedy

One hundred and fifty years ago the vacant lands of the West were opened to private use. One hundred years ago the Congress passed the Homestead Act, probably the single greatest stimulus to national development ever enacted. Under the impetus of that Act and other laws, more than 1.1 billion acres of the original public main have been transferred to private and non-federal public ownership. The 768 million acres remaining in federal ownership are a valuable national asset. – John F. Kennedy

One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free. – John F. Kennedy

One of the best ways to expand his horizon is through a regular reading program. – John F. Kennedy

One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. – John F. Kennedy

One-third of the world, it has been said, may be free- -but one-third is the victim of cruel repression–and the other one- third is rocked by the pangs of poverty, hunger and envy. More energy is released by the awakening of these new nations than by the fission of the atom itself. – John F. Kennedy

Only in the case of the Negro has the melting pot failed to bring a minority into the full stream of American life. – John F. Kennedy

Only in winter can you tell which trees are truly green. Only when the winds of adversity blow can you tell whether an individual or a country has steadfastness. – John F. Kennedy

Only three things are real: God, human folly, and laughter. Since we can do nothing with the first two, we must do what we can with the third. – John F. Kennedy

Our alliance is born, not of fear, but of hope. It is an alliance that advances what we are for, as well as opposes what we are against. – John F. Kennedy

Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics towards which we can be indifferent. – John F. Kennedy

Our Constitution wisely assigns both joint and separate roles to each branch of the government; and a President and a Congress who hold each other in mutual respect will neither permit nor attempt any trespass. – John F. Kennedy

Our deep spiritual confidence that this nation will survive the perils of today – which may well be with us for decades to come – compels us to invest in our nation’s future, to consider and meet our obligations to our children and the numberless generations that will follow. – John F. Kennedy

Our economy today depends upon women in the labor force. One out of three workers is a woman. Today, there are almost 25 million women employed, and their number is rising faster than the number of men in the labor force. – John F. Kennedy

Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. – John F. Kennedy

Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

Our nation is founded on the principal that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny. – John F. Kennedy

Our national conservation effort must include the complete spectrum of resources: air, water, and land; fuels, energy, and minerals; soils, forests, and forage; fish and wildlife. Together they make up the world of nature which surrounds us- of the American heritage. – John F. Kennedy

Our practical choice is not between a tax-cut deficit and a budgetary surplus. It is between two kinds of deficits: a chronic deficit of inertia, as the unwanted result of inadequate revenues and a restricted economy; or a temporary deficit of transition, resulting from a tax cut designed to boost the economy, increase tax revenues, and achieve — and I believe this can be done — a budget surplus. The first type of deficit is a sign of waste and weakness; the second reflects an investment in the future. – John F. Kennedy

Our present tax system … exerts too heavy a drag on growth … It reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment, and risk-taking … The present tax load … distorts economic judgments and channels an undue amount of energy into efforts to avoid tax liabilities. – John F. Kennedy

Our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. – John F. Kennedy

Our problems are manmade–therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable–and we believe they can do it again. – John F. Kennedy

Perhaps our brightest hope for the future lies in the lessons of the past. The people who have come to this country have made America, in the words of one perceptive writer, ‘a heterogeneous race but a homogeneous nation. – John F. Kennedy

Persons are judged to be great because of the positive qualities they possess, not because of the absence of faults. – John F. Kennedy

Philanthropy, charity, giving voluntarily and freely… call it what you like, but it is truly a jewel of an American tradition. – John F. Kennedy

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. – John F. Kennedy

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. The relationship between the soundness of the body and the activities of the mind is subtle and complex. Much is not yet understood. But we do know what the Greeks knew: that intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong; that hardy spirits and tough minds usually inhabit sound gods. – John F. Kennedy

Physical Fitness is the basis for all other forms of excellence. – John F. Kennedy

President Roosevelt and President Truman and President Eisenhower had the same experience, they all made the effort to get along with the Russians. But every time, finally it failed. And the reason it failed was because the Communists are determined to destroy us, and regardless of what hand of friendship we may hold out or what arguments we may put up, the only thing that will make that decisive difference is the strength of the United States. – John F. Kennedy

Privilege is here, and with privilege goes responsibility. – John F. Kennedy

Probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone. – John F. Kennedy

Real men stay faithful. They don’t have time to look for other women because they’re too busy looking for new ways to love their own. – John F. Kennedy

Remember that our nation’s first great leaders were also our first great scholars. – John F. Kennedy

Sailing has given me some of the most pleasant and exciting moments of my life. It also has taught me something of the courage, resourcefulness, and strength of men who sail the seas in ships. – John F. Kennedy

Science contributes to our culture in many ways, as a creative intellectual activity in its own right, as the light which has served to illuminate man’s place in the universe, and as the source of understanding of man’s own nature. – John F. Kennedy

Show me a man with a great golf game, and I’ll show you a man who has been neglecting something. – John F. Kennedy

Since 1607, when the first English settlers reached the New World, over 42 million people have migrated to the United States. – John F. Kennedy

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, we have always felt that there was a close relationship between a strong, vital mind and physical fitness. – John F. Kennedy

So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. – John F. Kennedy

So long as freedom from hunger is only half achieved, so long as two thirds of the nations have food deficits, no citizen, no nation can afford to be satisfied. We have the ability, as members of the human race, we have the means, we have the capacity to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth in our lifetime. We only need the will. – John F. Kennedy

So much depends on my actions, so I am seeing fewer people, simplifying my life, organizing it so that I am not always on the edge of irritability. – John F. Kennedy

So, let us not be blind to our differences–but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal. – John F. Kennedy

Somebody once said that Washington was a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency. – John F. Kennedy

Someone always needs rescuing, yet there’s only one person who ever seems to understand you. It’s a lot like being Lassie. – John F. Kennedy

Sometimes it just amazes me how many people desperately want to protect my personal information. – John F. Kennedy

Sometimes party loyalty asks too much. – John F. Kennedy

Struggle for freedom. Where people are denied the right of choice, recourse to such struggle is the only means of achieving their liberties. – John F. Kennedy

Sure it’s a big job; but I don’t know anyone who can do it better than I can. – John F. Kennedy

Surely in the United States of America, where brother once fought against brother, we did not judge a man’s bravery under fire by examining the banner under which he fought. – John F. Kennedy

Suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counter-weapons. – John F. Kennedy

Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities. – John F. Kennedy

That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe–a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office. – John F. Kennedy

That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make—a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort—between national greatness and national decline—between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of normalcy—between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try. – John F. Kennedy

That is why the Athenian law makers so decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. Confident that with your help, man will be what he was born to be, free and independent. – John F. Kennedy

The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all of America. – John F. Kennedy

The American presidency will demand more than ringing manifestos issued from the rear of the battle. It will demand that the President place himself in the very thick of the fight; that he care passionately about the fate of the people he leads. – John F. Kennedy

The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly. – John F. Kennedy

The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. – John F. Kennedy

The architects of fear have converted a wholesome law against conspiracy into an instrument for making association a crime. Pretending to fear government they have asked government to outlaw private protest. They glorify “togetherness” when it is theirs, and call it conspiracy when it is that of others. – John F. Kennedy

The Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. – John F. Kennedy

The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. – John F. Kennedy

The basis of effective government is public confidence, and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter. – John F. Kennedy

The business of the government is the business of the people. – John F. Kennedy

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity. – John F. Kennedy

The Civil Rights movement should thank God for Bull Connor. He’s helped it as much as Abraham Lincoln. – John F. Kennedy

The complacent, the self-indulgent, the soft societies are about to be swept away with the debris of history. Only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determine the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive. – John F. Kennedy

The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission. – John F. Kennedy

The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment, but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must- in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures-and that is the basis of all morality. – John F. Kennedy

The credit of success is claimed by all, while a disaster is attributed to one alone. – John F. Kennedy

The day before my inauguration President Eisenhower told me, You’ll find that no easy problems ever come to the President of the United States. If they are easy to solve, somebody else has solved them. I found that hard to believe, but now I know it is true. – John F. Kennedy

The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do. We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers and to the reaches of outer space. – John F. Kennedy

The efforts of governments alone will never be enough. In the end, the people must choose and the people must help themselves. – John F. Kennedy

The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve itand the glow from that fire can truly light the world. – John F. Kennedy

The essence of Vanderbilt is still learning, the essence of its outlook is still liberty, and liberty and learning will be and must be the touchstones of Vanderbilt University and of any free university in this country or the world. I say two touchstones, yet they are almost inseparable, inseparable if not indistinguishable, for liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain. – John F. Kennedy

The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space. – John F. Kennedy

The fact that we live in a world that moves crisis by crisis does not make a growing interest in outdoor activities frivolous, or ample provision for them unworthy of the nation’s concern. – John F. Kennedy

The Family of Man is more than three billion strong. It lives in more than one hundred nations. Most of its members are not white. Most of them are not Christians. Most of them know nothing about free enterprise, or due process of law, or the Australian ballot. – John F. Kennedy

The famous words of Emma Lazarus on the pedestal of the Statute of Liberty read: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Until 1921 this was an accurate picture of our society. Under present law it would be appropriate to add: “as long as they come from Northern Europe, are not too tired or too poor or slightly ill, never stole a loaf of bread, never joined any questionable organization, and can document their activities from the past two years. – John F. Kennedy

The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways. – John F. Kennedy

The Federal Budget can and should be made an instrument of prosperity and stability, not a deterrent to recovery. – John F. Kennedy

The Federal Government is the people and the budget is a reflection of their need. – John F. Kennedy

The federal government’s most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures. – John F. Kennedy

The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird symbolizes the strength and freedom of America. But as latter-day citizens we shall fail our trust if we permit the eagle to disappear. – John F. Kennedy

The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrence to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system, and this administration pledged itself last summer to an across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes to be enacted and become effective in 1963. – John F. Kennedy

The first man-made satellite to orbit the earth was named Sputnik. The first living creature in space was Laika. The first rocket to the Moon carried a red flag. The first photograph of the far side of the Moon was made with a Soviet camera. If a man orbits the earth this year his name will be Ivan. – John F. Kennedy

The freedom of the city is not negotiable. We cannot negotiate with those who say, ‘What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.’ – John F. Kennedy

The function and responsibility of the President is to set before the American people the unfinished business, the things we must do if we are going to succeed as a nation. – John F. Kennedy

The future promise of any nation can be directly measured by the present prospects of its youth. – John F. Kennedy

The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is the whole southern half of the globe… the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human history. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. – John F. Kennedy

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. – John F. Kennedy

The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

The great free nations of the world must take control of our monetary problems if these problems are not to take control of us. – John F. Kennedy

The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’ – John F. Kennedy

The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free. – John F. Kennedy

The Greeks understood that mind and body must develop in harmonious proportions to produce a creative intelligence. And so did the most brilliant intelligence of our earliest days – Thomas Jefferson – when he said, not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise. If the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, was Secretary of State, and twice President, could give it two hours, our children can give it ten or fifteen minutes. – John F. Kennedy

The Greeks understood that mind and body must develop in harmounious proportions to produce a creative intelligence. – John F. Kennedy

The guiding principle of this Nation has been, is now, and ever shall be IN GOD WE TRUST. – John F. Kennedy

The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American’s freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the citizens of this plight. – John F. Kennedy

The highest duty of the writer is to remain true to himself and let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth the artist best serves his nation. – John F. Kennedy

The highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist, is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may. – John F. Kennedy

The interaction of disparate cultures, the vehemence of the ideals that led the immigrants here, the opportunity offered by a new life, all gave America a flavor and a character that make it as unmistakable and as remarkable to people today as it was to Alexis de Tocqueville in the early part of the nineteenth century. – John F. Kennedy

The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership. – John F. Kennedy

The labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together, made them members one of another, and given them common tools for common goals. Their goals are goals for all America – and their enemies are the enemies for progress. The two cannot be separated. – John F. Kennedy

The leadership of the American Legion has not had a constructive thought for the benefit of this country since 1918. – John F. Kennedy

The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of the nation, is close to the center of a nation’s purpose – and is a test to the quality of a nation’s civilization. – John F. Kennedy

The life of the arts… is a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization. – John F. Kennedy

The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear. – John F. Kennedy

The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the nation’s greatness. But the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable for they determine whether we use power or power uses us. – John F. Kennedy

The most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the National Guard. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree. – John F. Kennedy

The most powerful single force in the world today is neither Communism nor Capitalism, neither the H-bomb nor the guided missile — it is man’s eternal desire to be free and independent. – John F. Kennedy

The new and terrible dangers which man has created can only be controlled by man. – John F. Kennedy

The New Frontier I speak of is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intent to ask of them. – John F. Kennedy

The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises, it is a set of challenges. – John F. Kennedy

The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. – John F. Kennedy

The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is unchangeable or certain. – John F. Kennedy

The only significance of analyzing the past is that it does give us some key to the future. – John F. Kennedy

The only unchangeable certainty in life is that nothing is unchangeable or certain. – John F. Kennedy

The only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. – John F. Kennedy

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission. – John F. Kennedy

The physical fitness of our citizens is a vital prerequisite to America’s realization of its full potential as a nation, and to the opportunity of each individual citizen to make full and fruitful use of his capacities. – John F. Kennedy

The present tax codes inhibit the mobility and formation of capital, add complexities and inequities which undermine the morale of the taxpayer, and make tax avoidance rather than market factors a prime consideration in too many economic decisions. – John F. Kennedy

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use; of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public. – John F. Kennedy

The problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier – a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats. – John F. Kennedy

The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask ‘why not?’ – John F. Kennedy

The processes of growth are gradual, bearing fruit in a decade, not a day. – John F. Kennedy

The purpose of foreign policy is not to provide an outlet for our own sentiments of hope or indignation; it is to shape real events in a real world. – John F. Kennedy

The Republican nominee-to-be, of course, is also a young man. But his approach is as old as McKinley. His party is the party of the past. His speeches are generalities from Poor Richard’s Almanac. Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo and today there can be no status quo. – John F. Kennedy

The Republican Party can lead any person to believe that their promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth. – John F. Kennedy

The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. – John F. Kennedy

The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. – John F. Kennedy

The South is the land of Washington, who made our Nation – of Jefferson, who shaped its direction – and of Robert E. Lee who, after gallant failure, urged those who had followed him in bravery to reunite America in purpose and courage. – John F. Kennedy

The stories of past courage can define that ingredient- they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot provide courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

The stories of past courage… can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

The stories of past courage…can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality.of our career services. The legislation enacted by the Congress, as well as the decisions made by me and by the department and agency heads, must all be implemented by the career men and women in the Federal service. In foreign affairs, national defense, science and technology, and a host of other fields, they face problems of unprecedented importance and perplexity. We are all dependent on their sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as their competence and energy. – John F. Kennedy

The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet. – John F. Kennedy

The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital from static to more dynamic situations, the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth of the economy. – John F. Kennedy

The tax on capital gains directly affects investment decisions, the mobility and flow of risk capital… the ease or difficulty experienced by new ventures in obtaining capital, and thereby the strength and potential for growth in the economy. – John F. Kennedy

The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century… unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today. – John F. Kennedy

The United States of America has no intention of finishing second in space. This effort is expensive-but it pays its way for freedom and for America. – John F. Kennedy

The United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward, and so will space. – John F. Kennedy

The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion. – John F. Kennedy

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. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. – John F. Kennedy

The voters selected us, in short, because they had confidence in our judgement and our ability to exercise that judgement from a position where we could determine what were their own best interest, as a part of the nation’s interest. – John F. Kennedy

The wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. – John F. Kennedy

The White House was designed by Hoban, a noted Irish-American architect, and I have no doubt that he believed by incorporating several features of the Dublin style he would make it more homelike for any President of Irish descent. It was a long wait, but I appreciate his efforts. – John F. Kennedy

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life. – John F. Kennedy

The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution. – John F. Kennedy

There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. – John F. Kennedy

There are few if any issues where all the truth and all the right and all the angels are on one side. – John F. Kennedy

There are many people in the world who really don’t understand, or say they don’t, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass’ sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin. – John F. Kennedy

There are many people in the world who really don’t understand-or say they don’t-what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin! – John F. Kennedy

There are no ‘white’ or ‘coloured’ signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle.

There are only two realities in life: death and laughter. We can do nothing to change the former, so we might as well do all we can to save the latter. – John F. Kennedy

There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. – John F. Kennedy

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction. – John F. Kennedy

There are those who regard this history of past strife and exile as better forgotten. But, to use the phrase of Yeats, let us not casually reduce “that great past to a trouble of fools.” For we need not feel the bitterness of the past to discover its meaning for the present and the future. – John F. Kennedy

There are three things in life which are real: God, human folly and laughter. Since the first two are beyond our comprehension, we must do what we can with the third. – John F. Kennedy

There comes a point where you see no evidence that the carrot and diplomacy are working. – John F. Kennedy

There has also been a change – a slippage – in our intellectual and moral strength. Seven lean years of drought and famine have withered a field of ideas. – John F. Kennedy

There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Pericles was also the age of Phidias. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci. The age of Elizabeth was also the age of Shakespeare. And the New Frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art. – John F. Kennedy

There is a terrific disadvantage in not having the abrasive quality of the press applied to you daily. Even though we never like it, and even though we wish they didn’t write it, and even though we disapprove, there isn’t any doubt that we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press. – John F. Kennedy

There is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in war and some men are wounded; some men never leave the country, some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some are stationed in San Francisco. It’s very hard in military or in personal life to assure complete equality. Life is unfair. – John F. Kennedy

There is danger that totalitarian governments, not subject to vigorous popular debate, will underestimate the will and unity of democratic societies where vital interests are concerned. – John F. Kennedy

There is inherited wealth in this country and also inherited poverty. – John F. Kennedy

There is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. 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. – John F. Kennedy

There is no city in the United States in which I can get a warmer welcome and fewer votes than Columbia, Ohio. – John F. Kennedy

There is no other airport in the world which serves so many people and so many airplanes. This is an extraordinary airport. . . it could be classed as one of the wonders of the modern world. – John F. Kennedy

There is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it – John F. Kennedy

There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth. – John F. Kennedy

There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change. – John F. Kennedy

There is only one rule by which to judge if God is near us or is far away – the rule that God’s word is giving us today: everyone concerned for the hungry, the naked, the poor, for those who have vanished in police custody, for the tortured, for prisoners, for all flesh that suffers, has God close at hand. We have the ability, we have the means, and we have the capacity to eliminate hunger from the face of the earth. We need only the will. – John F. Kennedy

There is something that happens when we leave the land and enter the ocean. It’s unexpected, the environment feels strangely welcoming. The ocean almost feels like… home. – John F. Kennedy

There is too little public recognition of how much we all depend upon farmers as stewards of our soil, water and wildlife resources. – John F. Kennedy

There is, in addition to a courage with which men die, a courage by which men must live. – John F. Kennedy

There is, of course, a legitimate argument for some limitation upon immigration. We no longer need settlers for virgin lands, and our economy is expanding more slowly than in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. – John F. Kennedy

There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility. – John F. Kennedy

There’s an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan… I’m the responsible officer of the Government. – John F. Kennedy

There’s an old saying. Never send a boy to do a man’s job, send a lady. – John F. Kennedy

These libraries should be open to all — except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty. – John F. Kennedy

They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the truth. – John F. Kennedy

This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them. – John F. Kennedy

This country was founded by men and women who were dedicated or came to be dedicated to two propositions; first, a strong religious conviction, and secondly a recognition that this conviction could flourish only under a system of freedom. – John F. Kennedy

This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet Military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. – John F. Kennedy

This increase in the life span and in the number of our senior citizens presents this Nation with increased opportunities: the opportunity to draw upon their skill and sagacity and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they have earned. It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added new years to life our objective must also be to add new life to those years. – John F. Kennedy

This is a great country and requires a good deal of all of us, so I can imagine nothing more important than for all of you to continue to work in public affairs and be interested in them, not only to bring up a family, but also give part of your time to your community, your state, and your country. – John F. Kennedy

This is not a time to keep the facts from the people-to keep them complacent. To sound the alarm is not to panic but to seek action from an aroused public. For, as the poet Dante once said: ‘The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. – John F. Kennedy

This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I certainly will come back in the springtime

This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents. We cannot say to ten percent of the population that you can’t have that right; that your children cannot have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go in the street and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that. – John F. Kennedy

This is the kind of America I believe in–and this is the kind I fought for in the South Pacific, and the kind my brother died for in Europe. No one suggested then that we may have a “divided loyalty,” that we did “not believe in liberty,” or that we belonged to a disloyal group that threatened the “freedoms for which our forefathers died. – John F. Kennedy

This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened … It ought to to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. – John F. Kennedy

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolution, the first waves of modern invention and the first wave of nuclear power. And this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be part of it-we mean to lead it. – John F. Kennedy

Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality. – John F. Kennedy

Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside. – John F. Kennedy

Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. – John F. Kennedy

Those [presidents] who were strongest intellectually were also strongest spiritually. – John F. Kennedy

Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. – John F. Kennedy

To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place, and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all. – John F. Kennedy

To be courageous, these stories make clear, requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula, no special combination of time, place and circumstance. It is an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all. Politics merely furnishes one arena which imposes special tests of courage. In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follow his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

To each of us is entrusted the heavy responsibility of guiding the affairs of a democratic nation founded on Christian ideals. – John F. Kennedy

To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution, Hamilton from serving as secretary of the treasury, Clay from being elected speaker of the House and Christopher Columbus from discovering America. – John F. Kennedy

To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days. – John F. Kennedy

To sound the alarm is not to panic but to seek action from an aroused public. – John F. Kennedy

To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust. – John F. Kennedy

To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required – not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. – John F. Kennedy

Today our concern must be with the future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. – John F. Kennedy

Today we give our thanks most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers – for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of resolve and strength of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy

Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom. – John F. Kennedy

Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. – John F. Kennedy

Too often in the past, we have thought of the artist as an idler and dilettante and of the lover of arts as somehow sissy and effete. We have done both an injustice. The life of the artist is, in relation to his work, stern and lonely. He has labored hard, often amid deprivation, to perfect his skill. He has turned aside from quick success in order to strip his vision of everything secondary or cheapening. His working life is marked by intense application and intense discipline. – John F. Kennedy

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy

True happiness is the full use of your powers along lines of excellence in a life affording scope. – John F. Kennedy

Truth is a tyrant-the only tyrant to whom we can give our allegiance. The service of truth is a matter of heroism. – John F. Kennedy

United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. – John F. Kennedy

Voters are more than Catholics, Protestants or Jews. They make up their minds for many diverse reasons, good and bad. To submit the candidates to a religious test is unfair enough – to apply it to the voters is divisive, degrading and wholly unwarranted. – John F. Kennedy

Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. – John F. Kennedy

We also need the provisions in the tax bill that will permit working mothers to increase the deduction from income tax liability for costs incurred in providing care for their children while the mothers are working. In October the Commission on the Status of Women will report to me. This problem should have a high priority, and I think that whatever we leave undone this year we must move on this in January. – John F. Kennedy

We are all tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy

We are confronted primarily with a moral issue… whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. – John F. Kennedy

We are inclined to think that if we watch a football game or a baseball game, we have taken part in it. – John F. Kennedy

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. – John F. Kennedy

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light a candle that can guide us through the darkness to a safe and sure future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. – John F. Kennedy

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. – John F. Kennedy

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future. – John F. Kennedy

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. – John F. Kennedy

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy

We are under exercised as a nation. We look instead of play. We ride instead of walk. Our existence deprives us of the minimum of physical activity essential for healthy living. – John F. Kennedy

We believe that if men have the talent to invent need machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work. – John F. Kennedy

We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them. – John F. Kennedy

We can say with some assurance that, although children may be the victims of fate, they will not be the victims of our neglect. – John F. Kennedy

We cannot be satisfied with things as they are. We cannot be satisfied to drift, to rest on our oars, to glide over a sea whose depths are shaken by subterranean upheavals. – John F. Kennedy

We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems, for conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. – John F. Kennedy

We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will talk sense to the American people. But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And the notion that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense. – John F. Kennedy

We cannot negotiate with those who say, ‘What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable’. – John F. Kennedy

We cannot reform the world…. Uncle Sugar is as dangerous a role for us to play as Uncle Shylock. – John F. Kennedy

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win. – John F. Kennedy

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. – John F. Kennedy

We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution. – John F. Kennedy

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. – John F. Kennedy

We do not seek the unanimity that comes to those who water down all issues to the lowest common denominator – or to those who conceal their differences behind fixed smiles – or to those who measure unity by standards of popularity and affection, instead of trust and respect. We are allies. This is a partnership, not an empire. We are bound to have differences and disappointments – and we are equally bound to bring them out into the open, to settle them where they can be settled, and to respect each other’s views when they cannot be settled. – John F. Kennedy

We do not want an official state church. If ninety-nine percent of the population were Catholics, I would still be opposed to it. I do not want civil power combined with religious power. I want to make it clear that I am committed as a matter of deep personal conviction to separation. – John F. Kennedy

We don’t want to be like the leader in the French Revolution who said There go my people, I must find out where they are going so I can lead them. – John F. Kennedy

We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. – John F. Kennedy

We had a dog who was named Pushinka, who was given to my father by a Soviet official. And we trained that dog to slide down the slide we had in the back of the White House. Sliding the dog down that slide is probably my first memory. – John F. Kennedy

We have all seen these circus elephants complete with tusks, ivory in their head and thick skins, who move around the circus ring and grab the tail of the elephant ahead of them. – John F. Kennedy

We have also seen a sharpening and refinement of abusive power. The legislative investigation, designed and often exercised for the achievement of high ends, has too frequently been used by the Nation and the States as a means for effecting the disgrace and degradation of private persons. Unscrupulous demagogues have used the power to investigate as tyrants of an earlier day used the bill of attainder. – John F. Kennedy

We have become more and more not a nation of athletes but a nation of spectators. – John F. Kennedy

We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain the future now. – John F. Kennedy

We have some of the most influential Members of Congress here today, and I do hope that we can get this appropriation for these day-care centers, which seems to me to be money very wisely spent, and also under consideration of the tax bill, that we can consider the needs of the working mothers, and both of these will be very helpful, and I would like to lobby in their behalf. – John F. Kennedy

We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last. – John F. Kennedy

We hold the view that the people make the best judgment in the long run. – John F. Kennedy

We in this country, in this generation, are, by destiny rather than choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. – John F. Kennedy

We live in a hemisphere whose own revolution has given birth to the most powerful force of the modern age; the search for freedom and self fulfillment of man. – John F. Kennedy

We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse every adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem. – John F. Kennedy

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. – John F. Kennedy

We must formulate, with both imagination and restraint, a new approach to the Middle East – not pressing our case so hard that the Arabs feel their neutrality and nationalism are threatened … while at the same time trying to hasten the inevitable Arab acceptance of the permanence of Israel … We must … seek a permanent settlement among Arabs and Israelis based not on an armed truce but on mutual self-interest. – John F. Kennedy

We must live our lives in such a way that our children, and their children after them, will form a natural and lasting commitment to the vigorous life. Only in this way can we be assured that the spirit and strength of America will be constantly replenished. – John F. Kennedy

We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. – John F. Kennedy

We must recognize that every nation determines its policies in terms of its own interests. – John F. Kennedy

We must start now to provide additional stimulus to the modernization of American industrial plants I shall propose to the Congress a new tax incentive for businesses to expand their normal investment in plant and equipment. – John F. Kennedy

We shall be judged more by what we do at home than what we preach abroad. – John F. Kennedy

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. – John F. Kennedy

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty… All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin… And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy

We shall pay any price, bear any burden, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. – John F. Kennedy

We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility. – John F. Kennedy

We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others. – John F. Kennedy

We stand today on the edge of a new frontier — the frontier of the 1960s, a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats. The new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. – John F. Kennedy

We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation. – John F. Kennedy

We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it. – John F. Kennedy

We’ve spent half the expenditures, we’ve wrecked our budget on all these other domestic programs, and the only justification for it, in my opinion, to do it in the pell-mell fashion is because we hope to beat them and demonstrate that starting behind them, as we did by a couple of years, by God, we passed them. I think it would be a helluva thing for us. – John F. Kennedy

We, in this country, in this generation, are – by destiny rather than by choice – the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. – John F. Kennedy

Wealth is the means, and people are the ends. All our material riches will avail us little if we do not use them to expand the opportunities of our people. – John F. Kennedy

Well, I am reading more and enjoying it less laughter and so on, but I have not complained nor do I plan to make any general complaints. I read and talk to myself about it, but I don’t plan to issue any general statement on the press. I think that they are doing their task, as a critical branch, the fourth estate. And I am attempting to do mine. And we are going to live together for a period, and then go our separate ways. Laughter. – John F. Kennedy

What church I go to on Sunday, what dogma of the Catholic Church I believe in, is my business; and whatever faith any other American has is his business. – John F. Kennedy

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label “Liberal?” If by “Liberal” they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer’s dollar, then … we are not that kind of “Liberal.” But if by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal”. – John F. Kennedy

What does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. If we are to work for the future of the city, let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were. – John F. Kennedy

What makes journalist so fascinating, and biography so interesting [is] the struggle to answer that single question: ‘What’s he like? – John F. Kennedy

What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out – not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time. – John F. Kennedy

What’s the use of being Irish if the world doesn’t break your heart? – John F. Kennedy

Whatever one’s religion in his private life may be, for the officeholder, nothing takes precedence over his oath to uphold the Constitution and all its parts – including the First Amendment and the strict separation of church and state. – John F. Kennedy

When asked what I am most proud of, I stick out my chest, hold my head high and state proudly, ‘I served in the United States Navy!’ – John F. Kennedy

When consumers purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, investment increases, and profits are high. Corporate tax rates must also be cut to increase incentives and the availability of investment capital. – John F. Kennedy

When I ran for the Presidency of the United States, I knew that this country faced serious challenges, but I could not realize – nor could any man realize who does not bear the burdens of this office – how heavy and constant would be those burdens. – John F. Kennedy

When I was growing up I had three wishes. I wanted to be a Lindbergh-type hero, learn Chinese, and become a member of The Algonquin Round Table. – John F. Kennedy

When my mother died, I had to go on air that night and do jokes. – John F. Kennedy

When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgement. The artists, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, “a lover’s quarrel with the world.” In pursuing his perceptions of reality he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. – John F. Kennedy

When power narrows the areas of a man’s concerns, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. – John F. Kennedy

When things don’t go well they like to blame presidents; and that’s something that presidents are paid for. – John F. Kennedy

When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we’d been saying they were. – John F. Kennedy

When we got into office, the thing that surprised me the most was that things were as bad as we’d been saying they were. – John F. Kennedy

When written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. – John F. Kennedy

When you have seven percent unemployed, you have ninety-three percent working. – John F. Kennedy

When you think of a movie, most people imagine a two hour finished, polished product. But to get to that two hour product, it can take hundreds or thousands of people many months of full time work. – John F. Kennedy

Whenever you’re sitting across from some important person, always picture him sitting there in a suit of long red underwear. That’s the way I always operated in business. – John F. Kennedy

Whether I serve one or two terms in the Presidency, I will find myself at the end of that period at what might be called the awkward age-too old to begin a new career and too young to write my memoirs. – John F. Kennedy

While it may be theoretically possible to demonstrate the risks inherent in any treaty… the far greater risk to our security are the risks of unrestricted testing, the risks of a nuclear arms race, the risks of new nuclear powers. – John F. Kennedy

While much remains to be done to achieve full equality of economic opportunity for the average woman worker earns only 60 percent of the average wage for men-this legislation is a significant step forward. – John F. Kennedy

While they came from a variety of religious backgrounds and held a wide variety of religious beliefs, each of our presidents in his own way has placed a special trust in God. – John F. Kennedy

While we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. – John F. Kennedy

Why should man’s first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition? Why should the United States and the Soviet Union, in preparing for such expeditions, become involved in immense duplications of research, construction and expenditure? – John F. Kennedy

Will Rogers once said it is not the original investment in a Congressman that counts; it is the upkeep. – John F. Kennedy

With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own. – John F. Kennedy

Without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men have lived. The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul. – John F. Kennedy

Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed, and no republic can survive. – John F. Kennedy

Woodrow Wilson, for example, shortly before his death, buffeted by the Senate in his efforts on behalf of the League of Nations and the Versailles Treaty, rejected the suggestion that he seek a seat in the Senate from New Jersey, stating: Outside of the United States, the Senate does not amount to a damn. And inside the United States the Senate is mostly despised; they haven’t had a thought down there in fifty years. There are many who agreed with Wilson in 1920, and some who might agree with those sentiments today. – John F. Kennedy

Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard. – John F. Kennedy

Written in Chinese, the word crisis, is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represent opportunity. – John F. Kennedy

You can milk a cow the wrong way once and still be a farmer, but vote the wrong way on a water tower and you can be in trouble. – John F. Kennedy

You can’t relate to a superhero, to a superman, but you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs but only after a struggle. – John F. Kennedy

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant. – John F. Kennedy

You have, at the same time, placed your confidence in me, and in my ability to render a free, fair judgment – to uphold the Constitution and my oath of office – and to reject any kind of religious pressure or obligation that might directly or indirectly interfere with my conduct of the Presidency in the national interest. – John F. Kennedy

You know nothing for sure…except the fact that you know nothing for sure. – John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes On Education

A child miseducated is a child lost.

But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that “knowledge is power,” more so today than ever before. He knows that only an educated and informed people will be a free people, that the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all, and that if we can, as Jefferson put it, “enlighten the people generally … tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day.” And, therefore, the educated citizen has a special obligation to encourage the pursuit of learning, to promote exploration of the unknown, to preserve the freedom of inquiry, to support the advancement of research, and to assist at every level of government the improvement of education for all Americans, from grade school to graduate school.

By the age of six the average child will have completed the basic American education…. From television, the child will have learned how to pick a lock, commit a fairly elaborate bank holdup, prevent wetness all day long, get the laundry twice as white, and kill people with a variety of sophisticated armaments.

Harvard gave me an education, but Junior Chamber gave me an education for life.

I ask particularly that those of you who are now in school will prepare yourselves to bear the burden of leadership over the next 40 years here in the United States, and make sure that the United States – which I believe almost alone has maintained watch and ward for freedom – that the United States meet its responsibility. That is a wonderful challenge for us as a people.

I ask that you offer to the political arena, and to the critical problems of our society which are decided therein, the benefit of the talents which society has helped to develop in you. I ask you to decide, as Goethe put it, whether you will be an anvilor a hammer. The question is whether you are to be a hammer whether you are to give to the world in which you were reared and educated the broadest possible benefits of that education.

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute – where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote – where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference – and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I think the success of any school can be measured by the contribution the alumni make to our national life.

I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.

I think when we talk about corporal punishment, and we have to think about our own children, and we are rather reluctant, it seems to me, to have other people administering punishment to our own children, because we are reluctant, it puts a special obligation on us to maintain order and to send children out from our homes who accept the idea of discipline. So I would not be for corporal punishment in the school, but I would be for very strong discipline at home so we don’t place an unfair burden on our teachers.

I want to emphasize in the great concentration which we now place upon scientists and engineers how much we still need the men and women educated in the liberal tradition, willing to take the long look, undisturbed by prejudices and slogans of the moment, who attempt to make an honest judgment on difficult events.

If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?

If by a “Liberal,” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people – their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties – someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say that I’m a “Liberal.”

If the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizen, it will not be defended at all. For there will always be those who scoff at intellectuals, who cry out against research, who seek to limit our educational system. Modern cynics and skeptics see no more reason for landing a man on the moon, which we shall do, than the cynics and skeptics of half a millennium ago saw for the discovery of this country. They see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing.

If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred.

In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power.

In its knowledges light, we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time. I am reminded of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied, In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon.

In our democracy every young person should have an equal opportunity to obtain a higher education, regardless of his station in life or financial means.

It is extremely important that adequate provision be made for reasonable levels of income to them, for the care of the children which they must leave at home or in school, and for protection of the family unit. One of the prime objectives of the Commission on the Status of Women, which I appointed 18 months ago, is to develop a program to accomplish these purposes.

It might be said now that I have the best of both worlds. A Harvard education and a Yale degree.

It should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.

Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it.

Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation.

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.

Not everyone has equal abilities, but everyone should have equal opportunity for education.

Only an educated and informed people will be a free people.

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. Our requirements for world leadership, our hopes for economic growth, and the demands of citizenship itself in an era such as this all require the maximum development of every young American’s capacity. The human mind is our fundamental resource.

Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.

Our true choice is not between tax reduction on the one hand and the avoidance of large federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget, just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.

Secondly, the educated citizen has an obligation to serve the public. He may be a precinct worker or President. He may give his talents at the courthouse, the State house, the White House. He may be a civil servant or a Senator, a candidate or a campaign worker, a winner or a loser. But he must be a participant and not a spectator.

Student loans have been helpful to many. But they offer neither incentive nor assistance to those students who, by reason of family or other obligations, are unable or unwilling to go deeper into debt. … It is, moreover, only prudent economic and social policy for the public to share part of the costs of the long period of higher education for those whose development is essential to our national economic and social well-being. All of us share in the benefits – all should share in the costs.

The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.

The earth, the sea and air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology, and education can be the ally of every nation.

The education of our people should be a lifelong process by which we continue to feed new vigor into the life stream of the Nation through intelligent, reasoned decisions. Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation.

The effort to improve the conditions of man, however, is not a task for the few. It is the task of all nations-acting alone, acting in groups, acting in the United Nations, for plague and pestilence, plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation. The earth, the sea and the air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology and education can be the ally of every nation.

The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.

The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.

The lower the family income, the higher the probability that the mother must work. Today, 1 out of 5 of these working mothers has children under 3. Two out of 5 have children of school age. Among the remainder, about 50 percent have husbands who earn less than $5,000 a year-many of them much less. I believe they bear the heaviest burden of any group in our Nation. Where the mother is the sole support of the family, she often must face the hard choice of either accepting public assistance or taking a position at a pay rate which averages less than two-thirds of the pay rate for men.

There is an old saying that the course of civilization is a race between catastrophe and education. In a democracy such as ours, we must make sure that education wins the race.

There is nothing, I think, more unfortunate than to have soft, chubby, fat-looking children who go to watch their school play basketball every Saturday and regard that as their weeks exercise.

Third, and finally, the educated citizen has an obligation to uphold the law. This is the obligation of every citizen in a free and peaceful society–but the educated citizen has a special responsibility by the virtue of his greater understanding. For whether he has ever studied history or current events, ethics or civics, the rules of a profession or the tools of a trade, he knows that only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.

This knowledge, the knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for all of the activities of the nation, is as old as Western civilization itself.

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it–we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.

Those who love the twilight speak as if public education must be training in conformity, and government support of science be public aid of caution.

We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.

What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United Sates and those who depend upon it.

John F. Kennedy Quotes On Peace And War

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. – John F. Kennedy

A revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough – but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability. – John F. Kennedy

A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war. – John F. Kennedy

After visiting these two places (Berchtesgaden and the Eagle’s lair on Obersalzberg) you can easily see how that within a few years Hitler will emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant figures who ever lived. He had boundless ambition for his country, which rendered him a menace to the peace of the world, but he had a mystery about him in the way that he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made. – John F. Kennedy

Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. – John F. Kennedy

And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights — the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation – the right to breathe air as nature provided it — the right of future generations to a healthy existence? – John F. Kennedy

Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes – one for peace and one for science. – John F. Kennedy

Bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us…No longer is the quest for disarmament a sign of weakness, (nor) the destruction of arms a dream – it is a practical matter of life or death. The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race. – John F. Kennedy

But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. – John F. Kennedy

But I do ask every publisher, every editor, and every newsman in the nation to reexamine his own standards, and to recognize the nature of our country’s peril. In time of war, the government and the press have customarily joined in an effort based largely on self-discipline, to prevent unauthorized disclosures to the enemy. In time of “clear and present danger,” the courts have held that even the privileged rights of the First Amendment must yield to the public’s need for national security. – John F. Kennedy

But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps-who works in a foreign land-will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace. – John F. Kennedy

But peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings. – John F. Kennedy

But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because freedom is incomplete. – John F. Kennedy

Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both. – John F. Kennedy

Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that control of the sea means security. Control of the seas can mean peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the seas if it is to protect your security. – John F. Kennedy

Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. – John F. Kennedy

Every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. – John F. Kennedy

For if Freedom and Communism were to compete for mans allegiance in a world at peace, I would look to the future with ever increasing confidence. – John F. Kennedy

For to save mankind’s future freedom, we must face up to any risk that is necessary. We will always seek peace – but we will never surrender. – John F. Kennedy

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. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match. – John F. Kennedy

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in. – John F. Kennedy

Freedom is being allowed to think your own thoughts and live your own life. – John F. Kennedy

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner. – John F. Kennedy

Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man. – John F. Kennedy

Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process-a way of solving problems. – John F. Kennedy

I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children – not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women – not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. – John F. Kennedy

I believe in an America that is on the march – an America respected by all nations, friends and foes alike – an America that is moving, doing, working, trying – a strong America in a world of peace. That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a world economy in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people. – John F. Kennedy

I do ask every publisher, every editor, and every newsman in the nation to reexamine his own standards, and to recognize the nature of our country’s peril. In time of war, the government and the press have customarily joined in an effort based largely on self-discipline, to prevent unauthorized disclosures to the enemy. In time of “clear and present danger,” the courts have held that even the privileged rights of the First Amendment must yield to the public’s need for national security. – John F. Kennedy

I don’t think that unless a greater effort is made by the Government to win popular support that the war can be won out there. In the final analysis, it is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it, the people of Vietnam, against the Communists. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to a great future for America – a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to an america in which commands respect throughout the world, not only for its strength, but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world in which we will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty…an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. – John F. Kennedy

I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. – John F. Kennedy

I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war… But we have no more urgent task. – John F. Kennedy

I, John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, do hereby urge the people of the United States to observe Tuesday, May 30, 1961, Memorial Day, by invoking the blessing of God on those who have died in defense of our country, and by praying for a new world of law where peace and justice shall prevail and a life of opportunity shall be assured for all; and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at eleven o’clock in the morning of that day as the time to unite in such prayer. – John F. Kennedy

If a beach-head of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved. All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. – John F. Kennedy

If there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity. – John F. Kennedy

In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration, and when peace comes we will gladly convert not our swords into plowshares, but our bombs into peaceful reactors, and our planes into space vessels. “Pursue peace,” the Bible tells us, and we shall pursue it with every effort and every energy that we possess. But it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. – John F. Kennedy

In addition, the United States Delegation will suggest a series of steps to improve the United Nations machinery for the peaceful settlement of disputes… – for extending the rule of international law. For peace is not solely a matter of military or technical problems – it is primarily a problem of politics and people. – John F. Kennedy

It is a curious fact that each of these extreme opposites resembles the other. Each believes that we have only two choices: appeasement or war, suicide or surrender, humiliation or holocaust, to be either Red or dead. – John F. Kennedy

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. – John F. Kennedy

Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans – born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage – and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. Now the trumpet summons us again – not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need – not as a call to battle, though embattled we are – but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation- a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. – John F. Kennedy

Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable, that mankind is doomed, that we are gripped by forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade; therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as be wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. – John F. Kennedy

Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause — united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future — and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance. – John F. Kennedy

Mankind must put an end to war – or war will put an end to mankind. – John F. Kennedy

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. – John F. Kennedy

Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said Because it is there. Well, space is there, and we’re going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. – John F. Kennedy

My fellow Americans, let us take that first step. Let us…step back from the shadow of war and seek out the way of peace. And if that journey is a thousand miles, or even more, let history record that we, in this land, at this time, took the first step. – John F. Kennedy

Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed. And our duty as a Party is not to our Party alone, but to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom. – John F. Kennedy

No one should be under the illusion that negotiations for the sake of negotiations always advance the cause of peace. If for lack of preparation they break up in bitterness, the prospects of peace have been endangered. If they are made a forum for propaganda or a cover for aggression, the processes of peace have been abused. But it is a test of our national maturity to accept the fact that negotiations are not a contest spelling victory or defeat. They may succeed–they may fail. They are likely to be successful only if both sides reach an agreement which both regard as preferable to the status quo–an agreement in which each side can consider its own situation to be improved. And this is most difficult to obtain. – John F. Kennedy

Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. – John F. Kennedy

Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace. – John F. Kennedy

Of course, it would be much easier if we could all continue to think in traditional political patterns—of liberalism and conservatism, as Republicans and Democrats, from the viewpoint of North and South, management and labor, business and consumer or some equally narrow framework. It would be more comfortable to continue to move and vote in platoons, joining whomever of our colleagues are equally enslaved by some current fashion, raging prejudice or popular movement. But today this nation cannot tolerate the luxury of such lazy political habits. Only the strength and progress and peaceful change that come from independent judgment and individual ideas—and even from the unorthodox and the eccentric—can enable us to surpass that foreign ideology that fears free thought more than it fears hydrogen bombs. We shall need compromises in the days ahead, to be sure. But these will be, or should be, compromises of issues, not of principles. We can compromise our political positions, but not ourselves. – John F. Kennedy

Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right – not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. – John F. Kennedy

Our way of life is under attack. Those who make themselves our enemy are advancing around the globe. The survival of our friends is in danger. And yet no war has been declared, no borders have been crossed by marching troops, no missiles have been fired. – John F. Kennedy

Partnership is not a posture but a process – a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks. Peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of the people. – John F. Kennedy

Peace does not rest in the charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper, let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace in the hearts and minds of all of our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings. – John F. Kennedy

Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, the pursuit must go on. – John F. Kennedy

Peace is a process – a way of solving problems. – John F. Kennedy

Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. – John F. Kennedy

Peaceful circulation has been interrupted by barbed wire and concrete blocks. For a city or a people to be truly free, they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choices and live their own lives. – John F. Kennedy

People have not been horrified by war to a sufficient extent… War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige as the warrior does today. – John F. Kennedy

Should I become President…I will not risk American lives…by permitting any other nation to drag us into the wrong war at the wrong place at the wrong time through an unwise commitment that is unwise militarily, unnecessary to our security and unsupported by our allies. – John F. Kennedy

So let us here resolve that Dag Hammarskjold did not live, or die, in vain. Let us call a truce to terror. Let us invoke the blessings of peace. And, as we build an international capacity to keep peace, let us join in dismantling the national capacity to wage war. – John F. Kennedy

So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake. – John F. Kennedy

So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it. – John F. Kennedy

The 1930s, Kennedy said, ‘taught us a clear lesson; aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war. – John F. Kennedy

The Kennedy Administration’s public pronouncements on the matter suggested that the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Castro’s Cuba would represent an unacceptable strategic threat to the United States. . . . This urgent transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base – by the presence of these large, long-range, and clearly offensive weapons of sudden mass-destruction – constitutes an explicit threat to the peace and security of all the Americas. – John F. Kennedy

The mere absence of war is not peace. – John F. Kennedy

The science of weapons and war has made us all one world and one human race with one common destiny. – John F. Kennedy

The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough – more than enough – of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on – not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace. – John F. Kennedy

The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation. – John F. Kennedy

The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. – John F. Kennedy

The world has been close to war before – but now man, who has survived all previous threats to his existence, has taken into his mortal hands the power to exterminate the entire species some seven times over. – John F. Kennedy

The world knows that America will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough of war and hate… we want to build a world of peace where the weak are secure and the strong are just. – John F. Kennedy

There are indications because of new inventions, that 10, 15, or 20 nations will have a nuclear capacity, including Red China, by the end of the Presidential office in 1964. This is extremely serious. I think the fate not only of our own civilization, but I think the fate of world and the future of the human race, is involved in preventing a nuclear war. – John F. Kennedy

There is always inequality in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded and some men never leave the country. Life is unfair. – John F. Kennedy

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texa…s? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too. – John F. Kennedy

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. – John F. Kennedy

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support – to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective – to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak – and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run. – John F. Kennedy

Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer concern the Great Powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and water and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind. – John F. Kennedy

War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers. – John F. Kennedy

War can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. – John F. Kennedy

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today. – John F. Kennedy

We in this country, in this generation, are by destiny rather than choice the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of peace on earth, good will toward men. That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. – John F. Kennedy

We must create world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapon. – John F. Kennedy

We must seek, above all, a world of peace; a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard. – John F. Kennedy

We prefer world law, in the age of self-determination, to world war in the age of mass extermination. – John F. Kennedy

We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of a worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth – but neither shall we shrink from that risk any time it must be faced. – John F. Kennedy

Where nature makes natural allies of us all, we can demonstrate that beneficial relations are possible even with those with whom we most deeply disagree-and this must someday be the basis of world peace and world law. – John F. Kennedy

While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom. – John F. Kennedy

While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace. – John F. Kennedy

With all of the history of war, and the human race’s history unfortunately has been a good deal more war than peace, with nuclear weapons distributed all through the world, and available, and the strong reluctance of any people to accept defeat, I see the possibility in the 1970’s of the President of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons. – John F. Kennedy

World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor—it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. – John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes On Democracy

Collective bargaining has always been the bedrock of the American labor movement. I hope that you will continue to anchor your movement to this foundation. Free collective bargaining is good for the entire Nation. In my view, it is the only alternative to State regulation of wages and prices – a path which leads far down the grim road of totalitarianism. Those who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor – those who would cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized – do a disservice to the cause of democracy. – John F. Kennedy

Democracy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone will fail. – John F. Kennedy

Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort. – John F. Kennedy

Democracy is the superior form of government, because it is based on a respect for man as a reasonable being. – John F. Kennedy

Democracy may not be perfect, but at least I don’t have to build a wall to keep my people in. – John F. Kennedy

For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, “hold office”; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve. – John F. Kennedy

Justice delayed is democracy denied. – John F. Kennedy

Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. – John F. Kennedy

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. – John F. Kennedy

The true democracy, living and growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people – faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but will also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment – faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor, and ultimately recognize right. – John F. Kennedy

Tocqueville delivered his dispassionate and penetrating judgment of the American experiment in his great work Democracy in America. No one, before or since, has written about the United States with such insight. – John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Quotes On Politics

Aeschylus and Plato are remembered today long after the triumphs of Imperial Athens are gone. Dante outlived the ambitions of thirteenth century Florence. Goethe stands serenely above the politics of Germany, and I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over cities, we too will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. – John F. Kennedy

All of us in the Senate live in an iron lung-the iron lung of politics, and it is no easy task to emerge from that ratified atmosphere in order to breathe the same fresh air our constituents breathe. – John F. Kennedy

But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. – John F. Kennedy

Don’t teach my boy poetry, an English mother recently wrote the Provost of Harrow. don’t teach my boy poetry; he is going to stand for Parliament. Well, perhaps she was right but if more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place to live on this Commencement Day of 1956. – John F. Kennedy

Easy money, sudden fortunes, increasingly powerful political machines and blatant corruption transformed much of the nation; and the Senate, as befits a democratic legislative body, accurately represented the nation. – John F. Kennedy

From time to time our national history has been marred by forgetfulness of the Jeffersonian principle that restraint is at the heart of liberty. In 1789 the Federalists adopted Alien and Sedition Acts in a shabby political effort to isolate the Republic from the world and to punish political criticism as seditious libel. In 1865 the Radical Republicans sought to snare private conscience in a web of oaths and affirmations of loyalty. Spokesmen for the South did service for the Nation in resisting the petty tyranny of distrustful vengeance. In the 1920’s the Attorney General of the United States degraded his office by hunting political radicals as if they were Salem witches. The Nation’s only gain from his efforts were the classic dissents of Holmes and Brandeis. – John F. Kennedy

I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit. – John F. Kennedy

I’m always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians. – John F. Kennedy

If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live. – John F. Kennedy

In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. – John F. Kennedy

In our own times, the old blunt instruments have again been put to work. The States have followed in the footsteps of the Federalists and have put Alien and Sedition Acts upon their statute books. An epidemic of loyalty oaths has spread across the Nation until no town or village seems to feel secure until its servants have purged themselves of all suspicion of non-conformity by swearing to their political cleanliness. – John F. Kennedy

It is when the politician loves neither the public good nor himself, or when his love for himself is limited and is satisfied by the trappings of office, that the public interest is badly served. – John F. Kennedy

Just as I went into politics because Joe died, if anything happened to me tomorrow, my brother Bobby would run for my seat in the Senate. And if Bobby died, Teddy would take over for him. – John F. Kennedy

Most of us are conditioned for many years to have a political viewpoint – Republican or Democratic, liberal, conservative, or moderate. The fact of the matter is that most of the problems that we now face are technical problems, are administrative problems. They are very sophisticated judgments, which do not lend themselves to the great sort of passionate movements which have stirred this country so often in the past. – They deal with questions which are now beyond the comprehension of most men. – John F. Kennedy

Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don’t want them to become politicians in the process. – John F. Kennedy

Mothers may still want their sons to grow up to be President, but according to a famous Gallup poll of some years ago, some 73 percent do not want them to become politicians in the process. – John F. Kennedy

Perhaps scientists have been the most international of all professions in their outlook… Every time you scientists make a major invention, we politicians have to invent a new institution to cope with it-and almost invariably, these days, it must be an international institution. – John F. Kennedy

Perhaps the twentieth-century Senator is not called upon to risk his entire future on one basic issue in the manner of Edmund Ross or Thomas Hart Benton. Perhaps our modern acts of political courage do not arouse the public in the manner that crushed the career of Sam Houston and John Quincy Adams. Still, when we realize that a newspaper that chooses to denounce a Senator today can reach many thousand times as many voters as could be reached by all of Daniel Webster’s famous and articulate detractors put together, these stories of twentieth-century political courage have a drama, an excitement—and an inspiration—all their own. – John F. Kennedy

Political action is the highest responsibility of a citizen. – John F. Kennedy

Political sovereignty is but a mockery without the means of meeting poverty and illiteracy and disease. Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope. – John F. Kennedy

Politics is a jungle-torn between doing the right thing and staying in office. – John F. Kennedy

Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole. – John F. Kennedy

She breathes all the political gases that flow around this, but she never seems to inhale them. – John F. Kennedy

Some of my colleagues who are criticized today for lack of forthright principles-or who are looked upon with scorn as compromising “politicians”-are simply engaged in the fine art of conciliating, balancing and interpreting the forces and factions of public opinion, an art essential to keeping our nation united and enabling our Government to function. – John F. Kennedy

The flow of ideas, is the make informed choices, the ability to criticise, all of the assumptions on which political democracy rests, depend largely on communications. – John F. Kennedy

The poet and the politician have this in common: their greatness depends on the courage with which they face the challenges of life. – John F. Kennedy

The time is not far off when many nations in many parts of the world of many political shades and commitments will possess nuclear or even thermonuclear weapons. – John F. Kennedy

The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. – John F. Kennedy

We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve. – John F. Kennedy

Whatever the political affiliation of our next President, whatever his views may be on all the issues and problems that rush in upon us, he must above all be the chief executive in every sense of the word. – John F. Kennedy

Where else, in a non-totalitarian country, but in the political profession is the individual expected to sacrifice all-including his own career-for the national good? – John F. Kennedy

Whether they be young in spirit, or young in age, the members of the Democratic Party must never lose that youthful zest for new ideas and for a better world, which has made us great. – John F. Kennedy