John F. Kennedy Quotes

“We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves; that is our only commitment to others.”

“Civility is not a sign of weakness.”

“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.”

“If all of you had voted the other way - there's about 5500 of you here tonight - I would not be the President of the United States.”

“But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.”

“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.”

“Libraries should be open to all - except the censor.”

“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.”

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

“Arms alone are not enough to keep the peace. It must be kept by men.”

“American history is not something dead and over. It is always alive,always growing, always unfinished.”

“Peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of the people.”

“The only unchangable certainty in life is that nothing is unchangable or certain.”

“The only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously.”

“Just because we cannot see clearly te end of the road, that is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey.”

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

“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.”

“We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.”

“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.”

“War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.”

“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.”

“Failure has no friends.”

“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.”

“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.'”

“History will never accept difficulties as an excuse.”