Explore the most impactful and insightful quotes and sayings by John F. Kennedy, and enrich your perspective with the wisdom. Share these inspiring John F. Kennedy quotes pictures with your friends on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or your personal blogs, completely free. Here are the top 581 John F. Kennedy quotes for you to read and share.
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
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
Life isn't fair. In never was and never will be. -- John F. Kennedy
Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. -- 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 nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. -- 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
Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. -- 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
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
Foreign aid is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world -- 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
The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardner objected that the tree was slow growing and wouldn't 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 pay is good and I can walk to work. -- John F. Kennedy
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
War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers. -- John F. Kennedy
The Jewish people, ever since David slew Goliath, have never considered youth as a barrier to leadership. -- 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
A police state finds that it cannot command the grain to grow. -- 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
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. -- 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
To each of us is entrusted the heavy responsibility of guiding the affairs of a democratic nation founded on Christian ideals. -- 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
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
When you have seven percent unemployed, you have ninety-three percent working. -- John F. Kennedy
Politics is like football; if you see daylight, go through the hole. -- 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, that pursuit must go on.
[Address before the United Nations, September 20 1963] -- 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
Never let your fears hold you back from pursuing your hopes. -- 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
The only significance of analyzing the past is that it does give us some key to the future. -- John F. Kennedy
To sound the alarm is not to panic but to seek action from an aroused public. -- John F. Kennedy
The war against hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation. -- John F. Kennedy
Not everyone has equal abilities, but everyone should have equal opportunity for education. -- John F. Kennedy
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 of the nation. -- 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
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
We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain future now. -- 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
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
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
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
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
[Undelivered remarks for Dallas Trade Mart, November 22 1963] -- John F. Kennedy
Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. -- John F. Kennedy
We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution. -- 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
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
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
Last year, more Americans went to symphonies than went to baseball games. This may be viewed as an alarming statistic, but I think that both baseball and the country will endure. -- 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
The supreme reality of our time is the vulnerability of our planet. -- John F. Kennedy
Remember that our nation's first great leaders were also our first great scholars. -- 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 this race for space. -- John F. Kennedy
It takes two to make peace. -- John F. Kennedy
Political action is the highest responsibility of a citizen. -- 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
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
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
[State of the Union Address January 11 1962] -- 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
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
Freedom is being allowed to think your own thoughts and live your own life. -- John F. Kennedy
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
A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war. -- 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
Most cities are nouns. New York's a verb. -- 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
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
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
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
Failure has no friends. -- John F. Kennedy
Our progress as a nation can be not swifter than our progress in education. -- 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
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
The science of weapons and war has made us all one world and one human race with one common destiny. -- 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
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
The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America. -- 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
Change is the law of life. -- John F. Kennedy
Neither smiles nor frowns, neither good intentions nor harsh words, are a substitute for strength. -- 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
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
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
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
The very word Secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society. -- 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 artthis is one of the fascinating challenges of these days. -- John F. Kennedy
You're in there with me. Personally. -- 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
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
If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.
[Commencement Address at American University, June 10 1963] -- John F. Kennedy
... we will do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard ... -- 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
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
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
When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. -- John F. Kennedy
Hold fast to the best of the past and move fast to the best of the future. -- 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
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
In giving rights to others which belong to them, we give rights to ourselves and to our country -- 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
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
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 independentan amount less than this countrys annual outlay for lipstick, face cream, and chewing gum? -- John F. Kennedy
All my life Ive known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid, to let them go ahead? -- 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
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
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
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
Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. -- 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
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
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
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.
[Address at Rice University, September 12 1962] -- 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
I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty -- 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
'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
Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us. -- 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration. -- John F. Kennedy
Peace is a process - a way of solving problems. -- 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
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
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
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
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. -- 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
Sometimes it just amazes me how many people desperately want to protect my personal information.
Ten thousand reflections
hide the true gem.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. -- 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
The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution. -- 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
Bullfight critics row on row Fill the enormous Plaza de toros But only one is there who knows And he is the one who fights the bull. -- 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
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. -- 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 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
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
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
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
The state is the servant of the citizen, and not his master. -- John F. Kennedy
Once you say you're going to settle for second, that's what happens to you in life, I find.
[Quoted by Theodore Sorensen in 'Kennedy'] -- 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 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
Physical Fitness is the basis for all other forms of excellence. -- 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
When things don't go well they like to blame presidents; and that's something that presidents are paid for. -- 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
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 New Frontier of which I speak 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 intend to ask of them. -- 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
I am the one person who can truthfully say, I got my job through the New York Times. -- John F. Kennedy
Disarmament without checks is but a shadow - and a community without law is but a shell. -- 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
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
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. -- John F. Kennedy
A life of complete leisure is the hardest work of all. -- 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
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
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
Wherever there is smoke there is a good smoke machine. -- John F. Kennedy
Unless liberty flourishes in all lands, it cannot flourish in one. -- John F. Kennedy
When the going gets tough, the tuff get going. -- 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
There has also been a change
a slippage
in our intellectual and moral strength. Seven lean years of drouth and famine have withered a field of ideas. -- 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
The basis of effective government is public confidence, and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter. -- John F. Kennedy
Things don't just happen. They are made to happen. -- John F. Kennedy
My brother Bob doesn't want to be in government - he promised Dad he'd go straight. -- John F. Kennedy
If (my grandfather) hadn't left, I'd be working over here at the Albatross Company. -- 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
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
[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
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
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 mere absence of war is not peace. -- 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 were going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. -- John F. Kennedy
Suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counter-weapons. -- John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
[Inaugural Address, January 20 1961] -- 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
Economic growth without social progress lets the great majority of the people remain in poverty, while a privileged few reap the benefits of rising abundance. -- John F. Kennedy
The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence. -- 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
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. -- John F. Kennedy
I think 'Hail to the Chief' has a nice ring to it. -- 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
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
Self-government requires qualities of self-denial and restraint. -- 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
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
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
No sane society chooses to commit national suicide. -- John F. Kennedy
The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. -- 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
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 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
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
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
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
The only unchangable certainty in life is that nothing is unchangable or certain. -- John F. Kennedy
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. -- John F. Kennedy
No one gains from fair employment law and legislation if there is no employment to be had. -- 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
Show me a man with a great golf game, and I'll show you a man who has been neglecting something. -- 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 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
There comes a point where you see no evidence that the carrot and diplomacy are working. -- 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
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
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
Civility is not a sign of weakness. -- 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
Without debate, without criticism no administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. -- John F. Kennedy
Ask not that the journey be easy; ask instead that it be worth it. -- John F. Kennedy
Life in freedom is not easy, and democracy is not perfect. -- John F. Kennedy
Just because we cannot see clearly te end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey. -- 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. -- John F. Kennedy
If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. -- 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 earth. -- John F. Kennedy
Peaceful circulation has been interupted 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
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
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
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
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
We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. -- John F. Kennedy
Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. -- John F. Kennedy
The best road to progress is freedom's road. -- 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
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
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
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
History will never accept difficulties as an excuse. -- 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
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
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
Nor problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. -- 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
I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds. -- John F. Kennedy
I do not belive that Washington should do for the people wha they can do for themselves through local and private effort. -- John F. Kennedy
The future promise of any nation can be directly measured by the present prospects of its youth. -- John F. Kennedy
One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. -- 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
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
Forbidden fruit tastes sweet, but its aftertaste is bitter. -- John F. Kennedy
If there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity. -- 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
If we fail to encourage physical development and prowess, we will undermine our capcity for thought, for work, and for use of those skills vital to an expanding and complex America. -- 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
If I don't have a woman every three days or so I get a terrible headache. -- 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
Democracy may not be perfect, but at least I don't have to build a wall to keep my people in. -- 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
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
I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it. -- 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
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
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
The great revolution in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free. -- 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
We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others. -- 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
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
Probably the greatest concentration of talent and genius in this house except for perhaps those times when Thomas Jefferson ate alone. -- 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
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
Let's not talk so much about vice. I'm against vice in all forms. -- 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
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
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
Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. -- 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
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
It was involuntary. They sank my boat. -- John F. Kennedy
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. -- John F. Kennedy
If you face a man's job, find a woman! -- 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
She breathes all the political gases that flow around this, but she never seems to inhale them. -- John F. Kennedy
Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. -- 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
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
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
Life's not fair but not always to your disadvantage. -- 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 rarified atmosphere in order to breathe the same fresh air our constituents breathe. -- John F. Kennedy
Lofty words cannot construct an alliance or maintain it; only concrete deeds can do that. -- 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
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
We can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves. -- John F. Kennedy
It might be said now that I have the best of both worlds. A Harvard education and a Yale degree. -- 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
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
We must use time as a tool, not as a couch. -- 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
We must abolish nuclear weapons, or they will abolish us. -- John F. Kennedy
The greater our knowledge increases the greater our ignorance unfolds. -- 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
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
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 ofindividualincometaxrates. -- 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
While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace. -- 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 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
Everything changes but change itself. -- 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
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
Don't pray for an easy life, pray to be a stronger man. -- 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
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
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 -- John F. Kennedy
I strongly believe in Scouting ... It's a source of great strength to us. -- 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.
[Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, June 26 1963] -- 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
Art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstone of our judgement. -- 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
We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes. -- 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
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
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
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
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
Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. -- John F. Kennedy
The only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. -- John F. Kennedy
Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.
[News conference, April 21 1961] -- John F. Kennedy
It is time for a new generation of leadership. -- 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
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
We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it. -- 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
Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. JFK -- 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
We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors. -- 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
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
We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch. -- John F. Kennedy
It is not always easy. Your successes are unheralded
your failures are trumpeted. I sometimes have that feeling myself.
[Speech at CIA Headquarters, November 28, 1961] -- 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 avoidtaxliabilities. -- John F. Kennedy
Peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of the people. -- John F. Kennedy
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. -- John F. Kennedy
What's the use of being Irish if the world doesn't break your heart? -- John F. Kennedy
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. -- John F. Kennedy
Every dollar released from taxation, that is spent or invested, will create a new job and a new salary. -- 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
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
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. -- 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
If you look throughout human history ... the central epiphany of every religious tradition always occurs in the wilderness. -- 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
It's only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead ... -- 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
There is inherited wealth in this country and also inherited poverty. -- John F. Kennedy
There is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change. -- John F. Kennedy
The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. -- 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
Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all. -- 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
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
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
Richard Cromwell was not fit to wear the mantle of his uncle. -- 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 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
Sure it's a big job; but I don't know anyone who can do it better than I can. -- John F. Kennedy
Politics is a jungle-torn between doing the right thing and staying in office. -- 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
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
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 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
O God, Thy Sea Is So Great And My Boat Is So Small -- 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
The Greeks understood that mind and body must develop in harmounious proportions to produce a creative intelligence. -- 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 -- 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. -- 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
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 cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.
[ The Berlin Crisis: Radio and Television Address to the American People (The White House, July 25, 1961)] -- John F. Kennedy
The US Airforce assures me that UFO's pose no threat to National Security. -- 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 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
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
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 the
same. -- 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
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
Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life. -- John F. Kennedy
We stand today on the edge of a new frontier - the frontier of the 1960's - a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils - a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats. -- John F. Kennedy
If not us, who? If not now, when? -- 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.
[Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, 1963] -- 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
Justice delayed is democracy denied. -- John F. Kennedy
Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. -- 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
This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor. -- John F. Kennedy
Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence. -- 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
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
Sometimes party loyalty asks too much. -- John F. Kennedy
Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort. -- John F. Kennedy
Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. -- 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
Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather
it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. -- 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
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
We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them. -- 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
We shall be judged more by what we do at home than what we preach abroad. -- John F. Kennedy
Only an educated and informed people will be a free people. -- John F. Kennedy
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. But it is a knowledge which today, in America, we are in danger of forgetting. -- John F. Kennedy
The business of the government is the business of the people. -- 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
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
I was born an American, I live like an American, I will die an American. -- 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
All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent. -- John F. Kennedy
Irrational barriers and ancient prejudices fall quickly when the question of survival itself is at stake. -- 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
Ask not what your community can do for you; ask what your community can not do for anyone else. -- John F. Kennedy
The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear. -- John F. Kennedy
The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. -- John F. Kennedy
Our responsibility is one of decision, for to govern is to choose. -- 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
The best way to progress is the path of freedom. -- 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
Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. -- John F. Kennedy
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names. -- John F. Kennedy
I believe in an America ... 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. -- John F. Kennedy
Libraries should be open to all - except the censor.
[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960] -- John F. Kennedy
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
Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment, ... We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history or the world - or make it the last. -- John F. Kennedy
Acting on our own, by ourselves, we cannot establish justice throughout the world, but joined with other free nations, we can ... assist the developing nations to throw off the yoke of poverty. -- John F. Kennedy
I'm an idealist without illusions. -- John F. Kennedy
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
Compromise does not mean cowardice. -- John F. Kennedy
Now we have a problem in making our power credible, and Vietnam is the place. -- John F. Kennedy
It is not our wealth that built our roads, but it is our roads that built our wealth. -- 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
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
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 Federal Government is the people and the budget is a reflection of their need. -- John F. Kennedy
Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. -- John F. Kennedy
If I don't have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches. -- John F. Kennedy
Each increase of tension
has produced an increase of arms;
each increase of arms
has produced an increase of tension. -- John F. Kennedy
No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. -- 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
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
Time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. -- John F. Kennedy
Harvard gave me an education, but Junior Chamber gave me an education for life. -- 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
Lets talk to one another instead of about one another. -- 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
You know nothing for sure ... except the fact that you know nothing for sure. -- 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
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
We want to be first; not first if, not first but; but first! -- 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
The most ideal approach to advance is the way of opportunity. -- 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
Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource. -- John F. Kennedy
The guiding principle of this Nation has been, is now, and ever shall be IN GOD WE TRUST. -- John F. Kennedy
There's an old saying. Never send a boy to do a man's job, send a lady. -- John F. Kennedy
Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. -- 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
A journey to Thousand miles begins with one step -- 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
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 men and women are in chains anywhere in the world, then freedom is endangered everywhere. -- John F. Kennedy
I think the success of any school can be measured by the contribution the alumni make to our national life. -- 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
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
It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. -- John F. Kennedy
America has tossed its cap over the wall of space. -- 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
We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation. -- John F. Kennedy
The new and terrible dangers which man has created can only be controlled by man. -- John F. Kennedy
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. -- John F. Kennedy
The processes of growth are gradual, bearing fruit in a decade, not a day. -- 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
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
The rising tide lifts all the boats. -- 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
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
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
Great crisis produce great men and great deeds of courage. -- John F. Kennedy
We must create world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapon -- 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
I'm an idealist without illusions.
[Ca. 1953, attributed to John F. Kennedy by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. in 'A Thousand Days' -- 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
While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom. -- 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
Philanthropy, charity, giving voluntarily and freely ... call it what you like, but it is truly a jewel of an American tradition. -- 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
We cannot reform the world ... Uncle Sugar is as dangerous a role for us to play as Uncle Shylock. -- 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
A rising tide (in the economy) lifts all boats. -- 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
The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. -- 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
Do you realize the responsibility I carry? I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House. -- 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
We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share. -- John F. Kennedy
The United States has to move very fast to even stand still. -- John F. Kennedy
Liberty without Learning is always in peril and Learning without Liberty is always in vain. -- 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
Certain other societies may respect the rule of force
we respect the rule of law. -- 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
One of the best ways to expand his horizon is through a regular reading program. -- 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 have become more and more not a nation of athletes but a nation of spectators. -- John F. Kennedy
When I ran for 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
Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. -- 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
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. -- John F. Kennedy
We must recognize that every nation determines its policies in terms of its own interests. -- 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
An economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits -- John F. Kennedy
The credit of success is claimed by all, while a disaster is attributed to one alone. -- 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
Mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind.
[Address before the United Nations, September 25 1961] -- John F. Kennedy
Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside -- 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
Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge upon it. -- 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
Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. -- John F. Kennedy
In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power. -- John F. Kennedy
There can be no progress if people have no faith in tomorrow. -- John F. Kennedy
We hold the view that the people make the best judgment in the long run. -- 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
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
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
A child miseducated is a child lost. -- 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
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
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
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
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. -- 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
Don't ask 'Why', ask instead, 'Why not'. -- 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
We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth. -- 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
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
For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed. -- 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
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
Arms alone are not enough to keep the peace. It must be kept by men. -- 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
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
Divided, there is little we can do. Together, there is little we cannot do. -- 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
American history is not something dead and over. It is always alive,always growing, always unfinished. -- 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