John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory.
John Fitzgerald KennedyLet us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.
John Fitzgerald KennedyA 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.
John Fitzgerald KennedyWe have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world - or to make it the last.
John Fitzgerald KennedyLet us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
John Fitzgerald KennedyWe are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
John Fitzgerald KennedyChange is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.
John Fitzgerald KennedyPublic speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.
John Fitzgerald KennedyWhen power leads man towards 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 Fitzgerald KennedyConformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
John Fitzgerald KennedyTolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.
John Fitzgerald KennedyThe United States has to move very fast to even stand still.
John Fitzgerald KennedyForgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
John Fitzgerald KennedyThere are risks and costs to a program of action but they are far less than the long range risks and costs of comfortable inactions.
John Fitzgerald KennedyA man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.
John Fitzgerald KennedyAnd so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.
John Fitzgerald KennedyTo exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution, Hamilton from serving as secretary of the treasury, Clay from being elected speaker of the House and Christopher Columbus from discovering America.
John Fitzgerald KennedyAll of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.
John Fitzgerald KennedyToo often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.
John Fitzgerald KennedyThere is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in a war, and some men are wounded, and some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some are stationed in San Francisco. It's very hard in military or personal life to assure complete equality. Life is unfair.
John Fitzgerald KennedyLet 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.
John Fitzgerald KennedyWhen 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 Fitzgerald KennedyIn the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding on the back of the tiger ended up inside.
John Fitzgerald KennedyIf a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
John Fitzgerald KennedyTo 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 Fitzgerald Kennedy