John F. Kennedy Quotes
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War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
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... the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward, and so will space.
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For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, "hold office"; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.
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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.
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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.
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Some of my colleagues who are criticized today for lack of forthright principles-or who are looked upon with scorn as compromising "politicians"-are simply engaged in the fine art of conciliating, balancing and interpreting the forces and factions of public opinion, an art essential to keeping our nation united and enabling our Government to function.
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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?
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We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last.
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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.
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Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans - born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.
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We believe that when men reach beyond this planet, they should leave their national differences behind them.
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The effort to improve the conditions of man, however, is not a task for the few. It is the task of all nations-acting alone, acting in groups, acting in the United Nations, for plague and pestilence, plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation. The earth, the sea and the air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology and education can be the ally of every nation.
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There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.
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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.
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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.
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Aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war.
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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.
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Fail miserably, achieve greatly!
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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.
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Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man
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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.
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All my life Ive known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid, to let them go ahead?
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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.
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Abroad, the balance of power is shifting. There are new and more terrible weapons - new and uncertain nations - new pressures of population and deprivation.
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For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.
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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.
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Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security.
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We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will talk sense to the American people. But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And the notion that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense.
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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.
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Dont teach my boy poetry, an English mother recently wrote the Provost of Harrow. Dont teach my boy poetry; he is going to stand for Parliament. Well, perhaps she was rightbut if more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place to live on this Commencement Day of 1956.
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John F. Kennedy
- Born: May 29, 1917
- Died: November 22, 1963
- Occupation: 35th U.S. President
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