John F. Kennedy quotes
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“I would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
“A police state finds that it cannot command the grain to grow.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.”
-- John F. KennedySource : Kennedy, John F. (1964). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963”, p.13, Best Books on
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“The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master.”
-- 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 -
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“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
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“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.”
-- 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 -
“The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.”
-- 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 -
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“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
-- John F. KennedySource : Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961
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“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“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 -
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“No matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the truth.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
“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 -
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“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 -
“The US Airforce assures me that UFO's pose no threat to National Security.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“There's a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
-- John F. KennedySource : Address on first anniversary of Alliance for Progress, 13 Mar. 1962
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“We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.”
-- 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. KennedySource : John F. Kennedy's Speech at Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland, www.jfklibrary.org. February 18, 1958.
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“The best road to progress is freedom's road.”
-- 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 -
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“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. KennedySource : Address to the American Newspaper Publishers, delivered 27 April 1961, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York
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“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 -
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.”
-- 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 -
“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
-- John F. KennedySource : John F. Kennedy, Dominique Enright (2003). “The Wicked Wit of John F. Kennedy”, Michael O'Mara Books
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“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“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 -
“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”
-- 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. KennedySource : Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961
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“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 -
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“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
“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 -
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“The human mind is our fundamental resource.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
-- John F. KennedySource : 1963 On sending national guardsmen to ensure peaceful integration at the University of Alabama. Address to the nation, 11 Jun.
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“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.”
-- 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 -
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“We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
“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 -
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“The war against hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation.”
-- 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 -
“Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“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. KennedySource : Kennedy, John F. (1963). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962”, p.163, Best Books on
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“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 -
“The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership.”
-- 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 -
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“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.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor - it requires only that they live together with mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security.”
-- 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 -
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“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
-- John F. KennedySource : Kennedy, John F. (1963). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962”, p.144, Best Books on
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“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.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.”
-- John F. KennedySource : Andrew Linzey (1976). “Animal rights: a Christian assessment of man's treatment of animals”, SCM Press
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“We believe that if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work.”
-- 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 -
“It's only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead...”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“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 -
“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
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“The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
-- 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 -
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“Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole.”
-- 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 -
“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 -
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“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 -
“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 -
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“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. Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.”
-- 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 -
“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 adversitylet us also be partners in prosperity.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
“The problems with this world cannot possibly be solved by sceptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need people who can dream of things that never were.”
-- John F. Kennedy -
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“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 -
“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 -
“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 -
“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 -
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